Commentary by JOHN HOWARD SANDEN





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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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