Velázquez's 'imitation' of nature seen through 'ojos doctos': a study of painting, classicism and Tridentine reform in Seville

The following chapters examine the cultural significance of Velazquez's Sevillian paintings, and provide a study of his relationships to the thought of Sevillian patrons. The discussion is based on a methodological review of the discussion of his paintings and their relationship to painting theory. A number of Iberian treatises on painting are analysed to explore Iberian and Sevillian attitudes to painting. A focus is developed on the writing of Velazquez's patrons, Juan de Fonseca and Francisco de Rioja, which has not been examined in regard to Velázquez until now. The combination of methodological enquiry and historical investigation explores the relationship between Velázquez paintings, other intellectual disciplines and ideological concerns related to classicism and Tridentine reform in Seville. In particular the diffusion of principles of Rhetoric, through poetry and poetics, preaching and meditation, is concentrated upon.