Velázquez in Italy: Painters, Spies, and Low Spaniards

Abstract

The painter Diego Velázquez's first visit to Italy (1629—-31) is recognized as a crucial chapter in the history of cultural relations between Spain and Italy. His reception at various Italian courts was less than enthusiastic, however, for a complicated range of social and historical factors. Velázquez's motives for visiting Italy could be misconstrued as more political than artistic and he had to contend with widespread anti-Spanish prejudices.

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Notes on contributors

Edward L. Goldberg

Edward L. Goldberg received a doctorate in art history from Oxford University and has taught at Harvard. An independent scholar based in New York and Florence, he is the author of Patterns in Late Medici Art Patronage (1983) and After Vasari (1988; both Princeton University Press [10 East Plaza Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11238]).