The real discovery of what the work of Diego Rodríguez de Silva Velázquez (1599-1660) is and represents did not take place until the 19th century, when the royal painting collections became state property and were housed in the Prado Museum, founded in 1819. In parallel, his work was rediscovered by Goya, whom it was greatly to influence, and also inspired Manet—who called him “the painter’s painter”—and the French Impressionists in general. Velázquez career can be characterised as a lifelong examination of the relationship of painting to nature, in which bushwork takes a leading role. As he developed, he realised ever-greater physical and psycological naturalism with progressively more pronounced and elegant brushstrokes, attaining miracolous effects of illusion with and astounding, abbreviated technique based on the implication rather than the elaboration of detail. The synthesis of the life and work of Velázquez that the Professor Santiago Alcolea i Gil writes in this book offer the reader a wide overview of the work of one of the world’s most oustanding creative artists of all time.