Juan de Pareja | |
|---|---|
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| Born | c. 1606 Antequera, Spain |
| Died | 1670 (aged 63–64) Madrid, Spain |
| Education | Diego Velázquez |
| Known for | Painting |
| Movement | Baroque |
Juan de Pareja (c. 1606 –c. 1670) was a Spanish painter. Born enslaved, he is known primarily as a member of the household and workshop of painterDiego Velázquez, who freed him in 1650. His 1661 workThe Calling of Saint Matthew (sometimes also referred to asThe Vocation of Saint Matthew) is on display at theMuseo del Prado in Madrid, Spain.[1]
Juan de Pareja was a Spaniard born into slavery in Southern Spain, probably inAntequera inMalaga province around 1610. Little is known on his background althoughAntonio Palomino describes him as amorisco (convert from Islam), being "of mixed parentage and unusual color."[2]
The first known reference to Juan de Pareja as a painter is in a letter addressed to Pedro Galindo, attorney of the city ofSeville, written on 12 May 1630, in which Juan de Pareja requests permission to move toMadrid in order to continue his studies together with his brother Jusepe. The authenticity of this document is questioned since within it he claims to be a free man and does not once mention Velázquez.[citation needed]
It is unknown at what time he began servingDiego Velázquez. In 1642 he signed as a witness in a power of attorney for Velázquez in a lawsuit against scribes in the criminal court. He was also a witness in October and December 1647, for two other powers of attorney to manage his assets in Seville granted by Velázquez and his wife Juana Pacheco. He would again sign a similar document in 1653 for Francisca Velázquez, daughter of the painter.[3]
In 1649 he accompanied Velázquez on his second trip toItaly. This is where Velázquez painted his famous paintingPortrait of Juan de Pareja, currently in theMetropolitan Museum of Art of New York. The painting was exhibited in the Pantheon of Rome in March 1650 during the festivities in honor of the Patron of the Virtuosos of the Pantheon, which Velázquez had recently joined. On 23 November, while still inRome, Velázquez granted him a letter of freedom, which would come into effect after four years on the condition that he did not escape or commit any criminal act in that period. The document of hismanumission, discovered byJennifer Montagu, is held in the Archivio di Stato in Rome.[4]
From then on until his death inMadrid he worked as an independent painter, demonstrating knowledge acquired in Velazquez's workshop, where he likely had wider responsibilities than Palomino suggests, as well as his knowledge of various other Spanish and Italian painters.[citation needed]
![Portrait of Agustín Moreto, (c.1648-53), 102 x 69 cm, Museum of Lázaro Galdiano. The subject and the authorship are controversial.[6]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aAgust%25C3%25ADn_Moreto_por_Juan_Pareja.jpg)
![The Calling of Saint Matthew, (1661), 225 x 325 cm, Prado Museum. Pareja paints himself at the left.[7]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aPareja-vocacion_mateo.jpg)
Sobre este último existe cierta controversia, pues parece que ni siquiera es del todo clara la identificación del retratado; en cualquier caso, de ser cierta, habría que fechar el cuadro entre 1651 y 1653, convirtiéndose así en la obra más temprana de Pareja.
Lo vemos a la izquierda, mirando orgulloso al espectador y portando en su mano derecha un papel con su firma.
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