Velázquez, Diego
Syllabification: (Ve·láz·quez, Diego)
Pronunciation: /vəˈläsˌk(w)ez, -kəs/
Definition of Velázquez, Diego
- (1599–1660), Spanish painter; court painter to Philip IV; full name Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez. His portraits humanized the formal Spanish tradition of idealized figures. Notable works: Pope Innocent X (1650), The Toilet of Venus (known as The Rokeby Venus, circa 1651), and Las Meninas (circa 1656).