DOI issue:
No. 332 (November 1920)
DOI article:Nelken, Margarita: The palette of Velasquez: Resumé of a lecture by Don Aureliano de Beruete
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21401#0140
THE PALETTE OF VELASQUEZ.
RESUME OF A LECTURE BY DON
AURELIANO DE BERUETE. a a
LAST spring Don Aureliano de Beruete
y Moret, Director of the Prado Mu-
seum, Madrid, delivered at the"Ateneo"
there a remarkable lecture on " The Palette
of Velasquez." This discourse having re-
vealed certain " discoveries " of the highest
interest respecting the technique of the
immortal artist, I asked the lecturer
to be good enough to allow me to offer a
resume of it to the readers of The
Studio, and I have now to thank the
eminent art writer very warmly for his
courtesy in putting at my disposal the
notes and the MS. he used at the lecture,
and thus enabling me to present it as
a primeur, since it has not yet appeared in
print, a a a a a a
The lecturer's aim, as he announced, was
not to offer fresh criticisms on the work of
the illustrious Spaniard, but rather to make
a close examination of the grisailles, the
delicate tonalities which form one of his
most marked characteristics, and particu-
larly to study the means whereby he suc-
ceeded in forming what one may term his
" palette." a a a a a
First came a brief but very profound
consideration of the artist's development
and of the milieu in which it came into
being. At thirteen Velasquez was study-
ing with Herrera ; but they soon parted, in
consequence of the diversity of their
natures ; and in the following year we find
Velasquez in the atelier of Pacheco, who,
while exercising no strong influence over
him, yet served admirably as his guide and
protector ; moreover, he introduced him
at Court after Velasquez had become his
son-in-law. In Spain at that time—the
beginning of the seventeenth century—
there was prevalent in all directions a very
strongly marked Italian influence ; but,
especially in the matter of painting, this
" renaissance " was more theoretical than
practical. A work by Velasquez dated 1617
—he being eighteen at the time—the
Adoration of the Magi shows signs of this
Italian influence in its composition, this
influence being mixed, it is true, with
something of the Flemish ; yet in point of
LXXX. No 332.—November 1920
structure the painting clearly reveals a
sobriety that is all Spanish. a 0
This picture serves Senor de Beruete in
a sense as a starting point. Its earthy tints
and its use of bitumen point to an evolution
in technique which, little by little, was
destined to lead, by way of golden tones,
and then of dark greys, to the light greys
seen later. 0 0 a 0 a
Bitumen, which, with its strong, imme-
diate effect, and then its formidable black-
ness, was a characteristic of Ribera and of
Zurbaran, and finally of Velasquez in his
first period, had never been used in Spain
until the seventeenth century. In this
Adoration Velasquez used it to excess ;
but, clearly realising its terribly blackening
results, henceforth substituted bone black
(noir d'os). 0000a
In 1623 Velasquez was appointed painter
to the king, and held the post until his
death. That year he did three portraits
of him, the best, according to the
lecturer, being that representing his
Majesty full-face, standing, and plainly
dressed in black. This portrait meant a
giant stride in the art of the Spanish
School. It is entirely free from Venetian
or Flemish influence, discards all richness
of colouring, and, on the other hand,
reveals, for the first time, that silvered
note which was later to become one
of his chief characteristics. But the
evolution of Velasquez's palette, far
from being sudden, came about almost
insensibly. Of the same period as this
portrait of the King is that of the Infante
Don Carlos, much less delicate in tone ;
and shortly afterwards the artist created
the work which in some respects consti-
tutes the synthesis of his " first manner,"
namely, The Drunkards. Although of the
same impulse as the Adoration, this last-
named production is far more transparent
in colour. And here ends the " first
period " of the artist—still very black, or
rather darkened by the use of bitumen, but
still a period which must be regarded as
marking the earliest steps of the renaissance
in Spain. 00000
The travels of Velasquez in Italy did not
bring about any radical change. On the
contrary, his Vulcan's Forge proves how
great is the difference between his solid
125
RESUME OF A LECTURE BY DON
AURELIANO DE BERUETE. a a
LAST spring Don Aureliano de Beruete
y Moret, Director of the Prado Mu-
seum, Madrid, delivered at the"Ateneo"
there a remarkable lecture on " The Palette
of Velasquez." This discourse having re-
vealed certain " discoveries " of the highest
interest respecting the technique of the
immortal artist, I asked the lecturer
to be good enough to allow me to offer a
resume of it to the readers of The
Studio, and I have now to thank the
eminent art writer very warmly for his
courtesy in putting at my disposal the
notes and the MS. he used at the lecture,
and thus enabling me to present it as
a primeur, since it has not yet appeared in
print, a a a a a a
The lecturer's aim, as he announced, was
not to offer fresh criticisms on the work of
the illustrious Spaniard, but rather to make
a close examination of the grisailles, the
delicate tonalities which form one of his
most marked characteristics, and particu-
larly to study the means whereby he suc-
ceeded in forming what one may term his
" palette." a a a a a
First came a brief but very profound
consideration of the artist's development
and of the milieu in which it came into
being. At thirteen Velasquez was study-
ing with Herrera ; but they soon parted, in
consequence of the diversity of their
natures ; and in the following year we find
Velasquez in the atelier of Pacheco, who,
while exercising no strong influence over
him, yet served admirably as his guide and
protector ; moreover, he introduced him
at Court after Velasquez had become his
son-in-law. In Spain at that time—the
beginning of the seventeenth century—
there was prevalent in all directions a very
strongly marked Italian influence ; but,
especially in the matter of painting, this
" renaissance " was more theoretical than
practical. A work by Velasquez dated 1617
—he being eighteen at the time—the
Adoration of the Magi shows signs of this
Italian influence in its composition, this
influence being mixed, it is true, with
something of the Flemish ; yet in point of
LXXX. No 332.—November 1920
structure the painting clearly reveals a
sobriety that is all Spanish. a 0
This picture serves Senor de Beruete in
a sense as a starting point. Its earthy tints
and its use of bitumen point to an evolution
in technique which, little by little, was
destined to lead, by way of golden tones,
and then of dark greys, to the light greys
seen later. 0 0 a 0 a
Bitumen, which, with its strong, imme-
diate effect, and then its formidable black-
ness, was a characteristic of Ribera and of
Zurbaran, and finally of Velasquez in his
first period, had never been used in Spain
until the seventeenth century. In this
Adoration Velasquez used it to excess ;
but, clearly realising its terribly blackening
results, henceforth substituted bone black
(noir d'os). 0000a
In 1623 Velasquez was appointed painter
to the king, and held the post until his
death. That year he did three portraits
of him, the best, according to the
lecturer, being that representing his
Majesty full-face, standing, and plainly
dressed in black. This portrait meant a
giant stride in the art of the Spanish
School. It is entirely free from Venetian
or Flemish influence, discards all richness
of colouring, and, on the other hand,
reveals, for the first time, that silvered
note which was later to become one
of his chief characteristics. But the
evolution of Velasquez's palette, far
from being sudden, came about almost
insensibly. Of the same period as this
portrait of the King is that of the Infante
Don Carlos, much less delicate in tone ;
and shortly afterwards the artist created
the work which in some respects consti-
tutes the synthesis of his " first manner,"
namely, The Drunkards. Although of the
same impulse as the Adoration, this last-
named production is far more transparent
in colour. And here ends the " first
period " of the artist—still very black, or
rather darkened by the use of bitumen, but
still a period which must be regarded as
marking the earliest steps of the renaissance
in Spain. 00000
The travels of Velasquez in Italy did not
bring about any radical change. On the
contrary, his Vulcan's Forge proves how
great is the difference between his solid
125