Diego Velasquez

Description of the artwork

The sculptural portrait was created based on a self-portrait of Spanish artist Diego Rodriguez de Silva Velasquez from the XVII century. The artist started his career with depicting life of common people and reached to receive the sole right to paint the monarch Philippe IV. At the height of his rapid career, already being a court painter, Velasquez creates a gloomy self-portrait with his face half-turned, full of anxiety and thoughtfulness.
A true challenge of transforming this self-portrait into a sculpture was to reproduce this tension and gloom using the expressive means offered by sculpture instead of the dark color scheme and the play of shadows that were used in the original painting. The facial expression of the artist was intensified to reflect his restless nature and immersion in his creative development even at the peak of his wealthy court life.
The portrait is cast in gypsum and is unique.