The Spanish artist Diego Velázquez (1599 1660) was one of the mo st important painters of the Golden Age. Taking as its starting point a group of masterly childrens portraits from the high ? profile collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, this opulent volume shows a representative cross ? section of Velázquez s oeuvre, which also includes kitchen still lifes, religious subjects, mythological themes and history paintings. As the court painter of King Philip IV of Spain, Diego Velázquez advanced to become one of the outstanding portraitists of his time. Through their modern and psychologically profound representation of the subject, his likenesses remain an experience for the viewer to this day. Above all the Spanish masters highly individual view of man and his world make his paintings stand out among contempor ary works and render him unique. With contributions by renowned specialists the volume shows Velázquezs development as a painter and traces his uniqueness through comparisons with works by famous contemporarie