Description
A provocative study of a freedman painter that recognizes the labor of enslaved artists and artisans in seventeenth-century Spain
Diego Velazquez's portrait of Juan de Pareja (ca. 1608-1670) has long been a landmark of European art, but this provocative study focuses on its subject: an enslaved man who went on to build his own successful career as an artist. This catalogue-the first scholarly monograph on Pareja- discusses the painter's ties to the Madrid School of the 1660s and revises our understanding of artistic production during Spain's Golden Age, with a focus on enslaved artists and artisans. The authors illuminate the highly skilled labor within Seville's multiracial society; the role of Black saints and confraternities in the promotion of Catholicism among enslaved populations; and early twentieth-century scholar Arturo Schomburg's project to recover Pareja's legacy. The book also includes the first illustrated and annotated list of known works attributed to Pareja.
Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press
(April 3-July 16, 2023)
About the Author
David Pullins is associate curator in the Department of European Paintings at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Vanessa K. Valdes is associate provost for community engagement at the City University of New York.
Book Information
ISBN 9781588397560
Author David Pullins
Format Hardback
Page Count 176
Imprint Metropolitan Museum of Art
Publisher Metropolitan Museum of Art
Diego Velazquez's portrait of Juan de Pareja (ca. 1608-1670) has long been a landmark of European art, but this provocative study focuses on its subject: an enslaved man who went on to build his own successful career as an artist. This catalogue-the first scholarly monograph on Pareja- discusses the painter's ties to the Madrid School of the 1660s and revises our understanding of artistic production during Spain's Golden Age, with a focus on enslaved artists and artisans. The authors illuminate the highly skilled labor within Seville's multiracial society; the role of Black saints and confraternities in the promotion of Catholicism among enslaved populations; and early twentieth-century scholar Arturo Schomburg's project to recover Pareja's legacy. The book also includes the first illustrated and annotated list of known works attributed to Pareja.
Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press
Exhibition Schedule:
(April 3-July 16, 2023)
About the Author
David Pullins is associate curator in the Department of European Paintings at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Vanessa K. Valdes is associate provost for community engagement at the City University of New York.
Book Information
ISBN 9781588397560
Author David Pullins
Format Hardback
Page Count 176
Imprint Metropolitan Museum of Art
Publisher Metropolitan Museum of Art
