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The Ten Greatest Portraits
Ever Painted
Ten immortal masterpieces
that tower over all the rest.
1. Diego Velázquez, 1599-1660
Pope Innocent X
So I
offer for your pleasure my nomination
for The Greatest Portrait Ever
Painted. When the world's very
greatest painters are ranked, Diego
da Silva Velázquez almost invariably
is placed at the very top. Velázquez
combined clarity of vision with sureness
of hand—the utter realism here
is stunning almost beyond words. The
effect is achieved with a painterly
directness which continues to astonish
after four centuries.
The
contemporary portrait artist would
do well to study the basic decisions
taken by the artist in approaching
this subject. First, the sitter occupies
his chair squarely, directly facing
a large window (note the small symmetrical
shadow beneath the nose). The shadow
cast by the chair onto the red velvet
background at right center is a mystery—what causes it? (Answer: the
artist is free to place his darks
where they are needed.)
Take
a close look at the two gilded finials
on the top of the chair—most
of us would pour much more effort
and precision into the rendering of
these than Velázquez has—he has rendered the finials with with
flickering, freely-placed brushstrokes.
The sparkling highlights of the satin
cap and jacket are marvelously convincing.
The right hand almost twitches with
movement. The papal face is worldly-wise
and almost cunning in its expression.
The force and power of the portrait
is in the presentation of the human
essence of the individual—here
we see the Vicar of Christ as a very
real human being.
Galleria
Doria Pamphili, Rome
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