![]() ![]() The art dealer René Gimpel noted in his diary in 1923 " Morgan would have offered a million dollars for it. French historian Hippolyte Taine considered the portrait as "the masterpiece amongst all portraits" and said "once it has been seen, it is impossible to forget". For much of the 17th and 18th centuries, it was a relatively unknown work, familiar only to a few connoisseurs who regarded it to be one of the finest portraits ever. The portrait was kept at private display by Innocent's family, the Pamphilj, who would display it in the Doria Pamphilj Gallery where it remains to this day. Experts doubt the veracity of this story, and argue that the pope allowed Velázquez to paint him because he had already painted with great success other people from the inner papal court, including the pope's barber. Ī copy made by Velázquez's circle, currently hanging at the National Gallery of Art, WashingtonĪpparently, when the pope saw the finished portrait, he exclaimed: "È troppo vero! È troppo vero!" ( "It's too true! It's too true!"), though he did not deny the extraordinary quality of the portrait. Once Innocent saw that portrait, he agreed to sit for the artist. It would have been then that Velázquez painted the portrait of his servant Juan de Pareja (today at display in the Metropolitan Museum of New York). He offered to paint a portrait of the pope, but Innocent X mistrusted Velázquez's fame, and asked for proof of Veláquez's skills. According to one of these, while visiting Rome, Velázquez, already a renowned painter, was granted an audience with Pope Innocent X. There are two versions of the story of how Velázquez came to paint the portrait. Velázquez included his signature on the paper in the pope's hands, but the date is not readable. The subject's vestments are of light linen, suggesting that the picture was probably painted during summer, most likely in 1650. The portrait was painted during Velázquez's second voyage to Italy, between 16. The pope, however, remained cautious, and the painting was initially displayed only to his immediate family, and was largely lost from public view through the 17th and 18th centuries. A contributing factor for this large advancement in the painter's career was that he had already depicted a number of members of Pamphilj's inner court. ![]() The pope, born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj, was initially wary of sitting for Velázquez, but relented after he was shown reproductions of portraits by the artist. He is dressed in linen vestments, and the quality of the work is evident in the rich reds of his upper clothing, head-dress, and the hanging curtains. The painting is noted for its realism as an unflinching portrait of a highly intelligent, shrewd, and aging man. A smaller version is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and a study is on display at Apsley House in London. ![]() ![]() It is housed in the Galleria Doria Pamphilj in Rome. Many artists and art critics consider it the finest portrait ever created. Portrait of Pope Innocent X is an oil on canvas portrait by the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez, executed during a trip to Italy around 1650. Oil painting by Spanish painter Diego Velázquez Portrait of Innocent X ![]()
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