The other pictures in the show were art but this one alone was 'truth'
- Palomino
Velasquez desperately wanted to make it rich in France as a painter.
There was only one problem: French art critics didn’t care about Spanish painters.
So, Velasquez got creative. He painted his slave, Juan de Pareja. Then, he ordered his slave to walk around the French Quarters, portrait in tow.
The response from the market was undeniable, and Velasquez broke into the exclusive French art scene he so yearned to join.
Velasquez had succeeded in bringing dignity to life.
Four years later, Juan de Pareja was freed by Velasquez and became a painter in his own right.