Born in Seville in 1599--possibly to a noble family--Vel�zquez was trained by Francisco Pacheco, whose daughter he married in 1618. After leaving the studio of his father-in-law for Madrid and the court of Philip IV, he began painting from life and developed his virtuoso style marked by loose brushwork and breathtaking naturalism. This book introduces Vel�zquez and his milieu, tracing his development from the earliest Sevilian bodegones [still lifes] to his late mythological pictures and the great series of royal portraits. With a chronology and an absorbing and accessible text, it features fifteen carefully chosen and beautifully reproduced masterpieces.