Portrait of Innocent X
Encyclopedia
The Portrait of Pope Innocent X
is an oil on canvas portrait by the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez
, finished during a trip to Italy around 1650. Many artists and art critics consider it the finest portrait ever created. It is housed in the Galleria Doria Pamphilj in Rome
. The Irish-born painter Francis Bacon
also made a series of paintings, the "Screaming Popes"
based on the work, now famous in their own right.
A smaller version is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York.
There are two versions surrounding how Velázquez came to paint the portrait. According to one of them, while visiting the Vatican City, Velázquez, already a renowned painter, was granted an audience with pope Innocent X. He offered himself to paint a portrait of the pope, but Innocent X doubted, mistrusting Velázquez's fame. Hence, he asked Veláquez to offer some proof of his painting skills. It would have been then when Velázquez painted the portrait of his servant Juan de Pareja
(today at display in the Metropolitan Museum of New York). Once the pope saw the portrait of Juan de Pareja, he allowed Velázquez to paint the portrait. Legend has it that when the pope saw the finished portrait, he exclaimed somewhat disconcerted: "Troppo vero!" («all too true»), though he was not able to deny the intrinsic quality of the portrait as a masterpiece. 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 own barber.
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. It was a relatively secret masterpiece for much of the 17th and 18th centuries, only known to some connoisseurs who, nonetheless, would inevitably praise the work as one of the finest portraits ever produced. French historian Hippolyte Taine
considered the portrait as "the masterpiece amongst all portraits" and said that "once it has been seen, it is impossible to forget".
The knowledgable art dealer René Gimpel
noted in his diary (1923) "Morgan
would have offered a million dollars for it. Velasquez was faced with a ruddy Italian, and the artist, accustomed to the pale complexions of his country, unhesitatingly steeped his brush in red the color of wine and brought the bon vivant devastatingly to life.... That face is a whirlpool of flesh, and blood, and life; the eyes are searching."
Pope Innocent X
Pope Innocent X , born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj , was Pope from 1644 to 1655. Born in Rome of a family from Gubbio in Umbria who had come to Rome during the pontificate of Pope Innocent IX, he graduated from the Collegio Romano and followed a conventional cursus honorum, following his uncle...
is an oil on canvas portrait by the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez
Diego Velázquez
Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist...
, finished during a trip to Italy around 1650. Many artists and art critics consider it the finest portrait ever created. It is housed in the Galleria Doria Pamphilj in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. The Irish-born painter Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon (painter)
Francis Bacon , was an Irish-born British figurative painter known for his bold, austere, graphic and emotionally raw imagery. Bacon's painterly but abstract figures typically appear isolated in glass or steel geometrical cages set against flat, nondescript backgrounds...
also made a series of paintings, the "Screaming Popes"
Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X
Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X is a 1953 painting by the Irish artist Francis Bacon. The work shows a distorted version of the Portrait of Innocent X painted by the Spanish artist Diego Velázquez in 1650. The work is one of a series of variants of the Velázquez painting which...
based on the work, now famous in their own right.
A smaller version is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York.
History
The portrait was painted during Velázquez's second voyage to Italy, between 1649 and 1651. The pope's vestments being of light linen, it seems reasonable to guess it was painted in summer, probably during the summer of 1650. Velázquez included his signature in the paper the pope is holding, but it is difficult to read the date.There are two versions surrounding how Velázquez came to paint the portrait. According to one of them, while visiting the Vatican City, Velázquez, already a renowned painter, was granted an audience with pope Innocent X. He offered himself to paint a portrait of the pope, but Innocent X doubted, mistrusting Velázquez's fame. Hence, he asked Veláquez to offer some proof of his painting skills. It would have been then when Velázquez painted the portrait of his servant Juan de Pareja
Portrait of Juan de Pareja
The Portrait of Juan de Pareja is a painting by Spanish artist Diego Velázquez, dating from around 1650 and currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, United States.-History:...
(today at display in the Metropolitan Museum of New York). Once the pope saw the portrait of Juan de Pareja, he allowed Velázquez to paint the portrait. Legend has it that when the pope saw the finished portrait, he exclaimed somewhat disconcerted: "Troppo vero!" («all too true»), though he was not able to deny the intrinsic quality of the portrait as a masterpiece. 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 own barber.
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. It was a relatively secret masterpiece for much of the 17th and 18th centuries, only known to some connoisseurs who, nonetheless, would inevitably praise the work as one of the finest portraits ever produced. French historian Hippolyte Taine
Hippolyte Taine
Hippolyte Adolphe Taine was a French critic and historian. He was the chief theoretical influence of French naturalism, a major proponent of sociological positivism, and one of the first practitioners of historicist criticism. Literary historicism as a critical movement has been said to originate...
considered the portrait as "the masterpiece amongst all portraits" and said that "once it has been seen, it is impossible to forget".
The knowledgable art dealer René Gimpel
René Gimpel
René Gimpel was a prominent French art dealer, friend and patron of living artists and collector. He was the son of a picture dealer and the brother-in-law of Sir Joseph Duveen...
noted in his diary (1923) "Morgan
J. P. Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...
would have offered a million dollars for it. Velasquez was faced with a ruddy Italian, and the artist, accustomed to the pale complexions of his country, unhesitatingly steeped his brush in red the color of wine and brought the bon vivant devastatingly to life.... That face is a whirlpool of flesh, and blood, and life; the eyes are searching."
See also
- Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent XStudy after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent XStudy after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X is a 1953 painting by the Irish artist Francis Bacon. The work shows a distorted version of the Portrait of Innocent X painted by the Spanish artist Diego Velázquez in 1650. The work is one of a series of variants of the Velázquez painting which...
- Portrait of Juan de ParejaPortrait of Juan de ParejaThe Portrait of Juan de Pareja is a painting by Spanish artist Diego Velázquez, dating from around 1650 and currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, United States.-History:...