Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Diego Velazquez - Artist/Artist Study

Sophia and Olivia have been focusing on Diego Velazquez for the past few weeks, and learning more about him and some of the art that he created. Each of the girls looked at six pictures that he painted for a period of time. I asked them later to recall what they could remember from each painting. These are the paintings they looked at and what they could remember:

Queen Isabella on Horseback

Sophia remembered:
=> In the picture, Queen Isabella is sitting on a pure-white horse with a long forelock and mane and its white and a little wavy...so it looks like a Gypsy Vanner mane. It's really pretty. The horse has a black bridle and reigns, but you can't see much of the black because there are gold designs.
=> The horse's bit is gold and it has its head slightly curved down.
=> The horse is standing on three legs and its fourth left front hoof is sort of curved upwards....like it is about to take a step forward. At the same time it looks posed because the other three feet aren't in motion. So, it looks like the horse is just holding one of its feet up for the picture.
=> On the horse's back there is no saddle. It honestly looks like it has a big rug on its back.
=> The rug is pretty long because it goes over the horse's back, and is about five or six inches from the ground on either side.
=> The rug is black but it has goldish designs on it. It also has a little bit of fringe on the edges.
=> Sitting on the horse's back is a lady in a dark brownish-black dress. It is rather poofy, and she is sitting side-saddle. She is sitting so she is facing the painter a little bit.
=> Her dress is really long. It is so long that you can't see her feet, but that could be because she has pulled them up a little bit.
=> The dress has flower designs on it, and its sleeves go up a little bit above the elbow. That's where the poofy part stops. Then she has a grayish-white sleeve that goes down to her wrist. It has flowery-designs on it. It is pretty close fitting, but the flowery-designs are different than the rest of the dress.
=> Around her neck she has a frilly white collar that starts around her neck and ends in a "V" above her belly button, and ends with a frilly black bow. It's made out of the same fabric as the white sleeves.
=> The back part is rounded and looks like it is a little bit off her shoulders. It makes her a little bit more queenly.
=> Above the white collar there is a white frilly neck piece that looks like something that Shakespeare would have worn, but puffier.
=> Above that is her head. It's slightly oval shape. She has darkish black hair that falls to her ears, but it looks like it has been pulled up in the back.
=> It also looks like she might have a feather on the right side of her hair.
=> She has slightly pink cheeks and a pinkish-red mouth that isn't smiling, but isn't frowning. She also has dark eyes and a slightly pale face.
=> In her left hand, she's holding some of the reigns, and in the right hand she's holding the end of them - 5 or 6 inches from the end. Her right hand is a little bit higher than her left hand.
=> The horse appears to be standing on a road and behind it you can see some shrubs and trees and a few hills which takes up about 1/3 of the background. The rest is all sky - mostly grays, light blues, and a little bit of white.
=> The whole picture looks dark and not really bright. Most of the colors seem muted and because the sky looks a bit stormy, it makes everything look darker.

Olivia remembered:
=> In the picture, there is a white horse with the queen on it riding side saddle.
=> The queen is a wearing a dark goldish, brownish gown with lots of flowers on it. The flowers are inside circles.
=> She is kind of smiling or half smirking.
=> Her hair is kind of in a bun with a feather in it. Her hair is a dark brown.
=> The horse looks exhausted and the bridle has lots of flowers and leaves on it.
=> The chest thing on the horse has lots of flowers and gold stuff on it.
=> The ground is a tan reddish brown. The background - the sky is stormy looking. It looks like it is about to rain.
=> There are lots of trees that are small and scraggly.
=> There are lots of shrubs and bushes. They are green, dark green, and a lime color.
=> In the background you can kind of see a tower that is crumbling. It looks like it is going to fall apart.
=> One of the horse's hooves was up.
=> Her dress looks like is all smooth and covers most of the back part of the horse.

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The Maids of Honour

Sophia Remembered:
=> In the picture, everything seems kind of dark. The ceilings are rather high and appear to be made out of wood, but you can't know for sure because everything towards the ceiling and upper walls is almost black.
=> In the center of the room there is a young girl who has a light gray dress on that's a hoop skirt and has a pleat at her waist that goes a little bit over the hoop part of her skirt.
=> She has ruffled sleeves with flowers and at the center of her bodice there is a bunch of flowers that kind of look like a heart.
=> She is very pale and has pale whitish blonde hair that is slightly wavy. The left side of her hair is pulled up by some flowers.
=> To the left and right of the girl are two handmaidens who also have hoop skirts and the one on the right has some flowers in her hair.
=> To the left is a large canvas that an artist appears to be painting on; and to the right and behind the handmaiden there is what appears to be a nun talking to a priest.  They appear to be in a deep conversation.
=> In front of the right hand maiden is another girl who has a hoop skirt. She has her hair down and isn't the most prettiest person ever. Her jaw is slightly protruding and to the right of that girl is another girl who is sitting on a window sill. She is not wearing a hoop skirt and has her hair down also. Her feet are dangling a little bit off the ground. Next to her is a dog.
=> The dog looks a little like a German Shepherd, but its ears are down and it doesn't have enough black, but the muzzle does have a little bit of black. The dog has a rather majestic air.
=> Behind the girl with the pale hair is a mirror on the wall, and in the mirror you can see what appears to be her mother and father from across the room.
=> Behind that is a doorway and in it is a man who appears to be leaving.

Olivia remembered:
=> In the picture, there are five young girls and none of the people in the picture are smiling. The girl who catches your attention the most has a pretty ivory-colored dress. There are flowers at the top of the dress that are sort of in the shape of a heart.She has really pale skin. She has that silvery-blonde hair.
=> To her right, there is an older looking girl whose hair is being held up with a couple of flowers. She is looking down on her like she is asking her a question.
=> The girl to her left has her hair held up with something that is the shape of a butterfly, and it looks like she is fixing her dress.
=> Behind the girl to the left is an artist who is holding a couple of brushes with a paint palette in his left hand and in his right hand he is holding a paintbrush. There is a very big canvas that looks like it is probably ten feet tall.
=> There is a dog standing by a girl who is kind of frowning. Also by that girl is another girl who you can see who is young who looks like she is maybe five. One of her feet is placed on top of the dog - like she is standing on top of the dog.
=> You can see two windows. Standing behind the girls is a man and a nun. There is another man who is standing in a doorway. He looks like he is going up or down the stairs.
=> Also, the room is very dark. It looks like it is made out of stone. There are a lot of paintings on the wall.

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The Franciscan Nun

Sophia Remembered:
=> In the picture there is an older woman standing front and center. She looks like she's 60 or 70 years old...maybe older. She has brown eyes and a slightly wrinkly, stern face.
=> She is wearing a long, brown dress that looks kind of comfortable. There is absolutely no design on it. It's just a plain dress with slightly billowed sleeves. You can't see the collar because she has a white piece of fabric that covers her head and goes down past her neck and her shoulders, and covers a  fair amount of the front of the dress.
=> Over that, she has a brown cloak on that's the same color as the dress and falls about to her shins. It has a hood and the hood is pulled over the white piece of fabric that is covering her head.
=> The cloak is fastened with a pin and at the end of the pin there is what appears to be a little figurine at the end - like of a person or something.
=> The pin is a golden color and kind of stands out against the brown of the cloak.
=> In her left hand she is carrying a brown cross with a little figurine of Jesus nailed to the cross. You can't see all of him because Jesus is facing her, and you can only see a little bit of his leg and torso.
=> In her right hand she is carrying what appears to be either a brown book or a picture frame of some sort. I'm not quite sure.
=> Her face has a slight frown on it and she doesn't appear to be that happy.
=> Her lips are pursed.
=> There is no furniture in there...just her. The room is slightly darkened.

Olivia remembered:
=> In the picture, there is one person standing in it. The nun is wearing dark brown robes and a dark brown cloak or cape.
=> In her left hand, she is holding a leather-bound book that might be the Bible.
=> In her right hand, she is holding a cross with Jesus on it.
=> She has this white thing on her head that is under the hood of her cloak that extends a little bit down past her neck.
=> The background is a very dark brown, and at the top there are words that might be in French.
=> On the ground, the color is the same as the background and there are more words in French.
=> Underneath her cloak you can see this little rope.
=> The robe was very long so you couldn't see her shoes or feet.
=> She wasn't smiling or frowning. She was just kind of staring.
=> Her face was wrinkly, and her eyes were kind of a chocolate brown.
=> Her hands were also wrinkly, and I couldn't see her nails.

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The Coronation of the Virgin

Sophia Remembered:
=> In the picture, there are two men who are crowning Mary, mother of Jesus, while up in the clouds in an almost-heavenly look.
=> The man on the first is older and has a white forked-beard and white hair. He has a little bit of a moustache and a stern expression. He is wearing flowing robes of dark pink, purple, and blue. In his left hand he has a glass sphere or ball about the size of a bowling ball, but a little bit smaller. It is kind of see-through, but you can see pink and purple in it. With his other hand, he is holding a crown made out of rosebuds and green leaves.
=> On the other side of the crown is another holy man. He has brown, curly hair that falls to about his shoulders and a fair amount of stubble on his face. He also has a flowing robes of dark purple and pink, but no blue. In his left hand, he has a golden stick that is thin and has a heart-shaped tip. In his other hand he is holding the other side of his floral crown.
=> Mary appears to be sitting in the clouds as the crown is being lowered onto her head. She has very pale skin with pink cheeks and lip. He hair is a dark brown and black on some places, and she has a white cloth covering the lower part of her hair in the back and a little bit in the front because the two sides of the cloth come over her shoulders. She is wearing a dark pink dress, a little bit darker than the one that the men are wearing. Over her right shoulder and on her lap is a beautiful blue cloth.
=> Peeking out from underneath from her dress are little angels. There are six all together and they all have pale skin, little wings, and pink cheeks. There is one angel on the left side of Mary who has brownish-blonde hair and blue-green wings. He appears to be looking down at two of his friends who appear to be a girl and a boy who have curly, blonde hair and the same color wings. But they are peeking out of a cloud, so it looks like they don't have any bodies. They just look like heads.
=> On the other side of Mary are two other little angels with grayish wings and light-red curly hair. They also appear to have no bodies as they appear to be peeking out from a cloud.
=> The final little angel is behind the two with the red hair. This little angel is bending over slightly backwards and the artist drew the angel so that he or she has no head.
=> Below the angels and Mary and the two holy men you can see more clouds and maybe a little bit of rocks or mountains. Up above Mary in the crown and up above and between the holy men is a white dove that appears to be flying towards the coronation.
=> The dove is surrounded in light and has rays of light coming off of it. One ray goes through the crown and shines onto Mary's head. The dove has a very majestic feel and could possibly be God coming to watch the coronation of Mary.
=> Mary is not looking at the coronation, but appears to be looking at the little baby angels or cherubs or has her eyes closed. Around her neck she either has nothing or a cross necklace that she has her hand on.
=> Overall the picture has a majestic and mysterious aura, but at the same time seems very realistic.

Olivia remembered:
=> In the picture, there are three people and six little angels.
=> There are two men and there is Mary.
=> The man on the left has dark brown hair and a brown beard, and in his left hand he is holding this very thin staff and it looks like a tear drop and then it looks like a marshmallow or maybe like an upside down heart without the little thing in the center.
=> In this right hand, he is holding part of the wreath or crown.
=> The man on the right has white hair and white beard. He has in his left hand this glass ball that you can see through and in his right hand he has the other part of the wreath or crown.
=> The men are wearing are wearing a dark purple robe and a really long shawl or scarf that is a purplish-pink in color.
=> Mary has dark brown hair. She has a veil - a light, lacy cloth - that drapes over her shoulders; and she is wearing the same purplish-pinkish robe. Hanging off her right shoulder, she has this navy blue cloak or coat that is really long. Her hand is on her chest and it appears that she is wearing a ring on her right hand.
=> Above her head is the crown that has pinkish, purplish flowers and green leaves.
=> Above the crown is a white dove. The dove is surrounded by light and has beams of light going to or across them - kind of surrounding the men's heads so they kind of glow. One of them goes down and kind of surrounds Mary's head.
=> The six little angels all don't have clothes on. (Laughs.) Well, they don't! You can see four heads that are sticking through the clouds so it looks like they don't have bodies.
=> One of them is on the left is holding up part of Mary's cloak or coat.
=> There are two others that the angel that's holding Mary's cloak is looking down it. There are two of them, and they appear to be siblings. The one of the left is looking at the other sibling.
=> On the right, there are three other angels. Two of them you can see their heads. The other one you can't see the head. It looks headless. The headless one is holding up part of Mary's coat.
=> The little angels have tiny, blueish-greenish wings. The other two on the right have reddish hair and the ones on the left has blondish hair.
=> They appear to be hovering over a mountain in the clouds. They are sitting on the clouds.
=> The sky isn't exactly blue. It's more of a gray, and there are lots of clouds.

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Prince Philip Prosper

Sophia Remembered:
=> In the picture, there is a boy having his portrait taken. He appears to be about five or six years old even though he only lived to be three.
=> He has short blonde hair that gets darker as it goes back.
=> He has dark eyes, a childish face, and orangeish-pink lips.
=> He is wearing the most unmanly thing I've ever seen. He is orangeish-red dress with five or six horizontal strips of silver around the bottom of the dress. He also the same color of silver stripes running diagonally up his puffy sleeves.
=> The dress is fairly long and covers his shoes and it goes all the way up to his neck where there is a fairly long collar that goes a little bit past his shoulders.
=> On his left shoulder is a bow that is the same color as his dress, and appears to be added for decoration.
=> The end of his sleeves are a white and are very frilly. They have two or three rows of puffy lace that go up his arm.
=> There appears to be an almost white apron over his dress because he has a white cloth covering the front of his dress that goes from his white collar all the way down to the floor, and covers most of the front of the dress except a little bit on the side.
=> Through the white cloth you can see a large diagonal stripe running across the front of his bodice.
=> Philip has a golden string running from underneath the bow on his left shoulder to a few inches under his arm on his right side. On it is a golden medallion or pendant that he wore because he was sickly and there is another pendant or medallion on the same golden thread except it is on his arm and under the place where the string came out of his bow.
=> Around his waist he has a string that is the same color of his dress that is going across the white fabric to make it look more fitted and add a little bit of color to the front.
=> On the lower part of his dress, he has three bells attached to the white apron. One in the center, and two a couple of inches to the sides and a little bit up.
=> His right hand is just laying against the side of his dress. His left hand is resting a red velvet chair.
=> The chair doesn't have a particularly high back. It is red velvet with gold trim with little bronze/gold beads holding it to the chair.
=> The front of the chair is facing off the picture, so you could only see the back of the chair, the legs, and one of the armrests.
=> On the chair is a small dog that is white, but has gray and a little bit of black on it. It has dark eyes and has a content expression on its face. Its ears look a little feathery at the tips.
=> The dog is laying so its paws are between the arm rests and the bottom of the chair. His head is on the arm rest.
=> You can only see one arm of the chair because the other arm is covered by a dark red cloth that goes up the wall and appears to be attached to the ceiling.
=> Behind Philip in the background is what appears to be another cloth. To the side of the cloth is what appears to be a doorway with a little square light shining out.
=> Behind and little bit to the right of Philip is a stool/chair with a red velvet pillow with gold tassels laying on it. On the pillow is what appears to be extra clothes or fabric that is a dark red and has white on it.
=> Overall the picture has a somber air. Even though Philip is having his portrait taken and isn't smiling, he has an almost cheerful and relaxed air about him.

Olivia remembered:
=> In the picture, there is a boy who looks like he is six, but he is actually three.
=> He has very pale skin and rosy-colored cheeks.
=> He is wearing strange thing for a guy to wear, but maybe not in England in the 1600s - not so much the 21st century: he was wearing a dress!
=> He has a red-orangeish dress with silver and kind of goldish stripes on it.
=> He has an apron - sort of - that acts as the collar of his dress to the length of his dress. It kind of wraps around the dress. You can still see parts of the dress since the apron doesn't cover it all up.
=> On the sleeves of his dress he has a white, frilly, linen fabric that is kind of ruffly. Sticking out of the sleeves, you can see feathers that are the same color as his dress.
=> He has a strip or string of gold that has a charm or amulet on it that goes from the top of his shoulder all the way around him.
=> He has another kind of charm on his arm, and then he has a red string that goes around his waist and has these gold strings hanging down from it that has more charms hanging down from it.
=> His right hand is on his chair and his left hand is hanging down.
=> On the chair is a little dog that has ears that stick out sideways and then go either up or down. The dog is white with patches of gray fur on it.
=> The chair has red velvet on it. It has gold trim and on the trim there are these black nails. You can see one arm rest and part of another one. On the other one that you can see is a curtain that is made from red velvet with gold trim on it as well.
=> There is a large, black rug with red designs on it.
=> Behind him in the distance you can a big, red drape or curtain. By the curtain you can see a doorway where you can see light coming through.
=> Behind the prince there is a stool that isn't really a stool...it's more like a stool-like chair...that has a red velvet seat. On the seat there is a big, plush red velvet cushion that on the corners has gold trim and tassels.
=> On the cushion there is a hat or might be a hat or extra fabric and maybe a pair of scissors or silver trimming.

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Infanta Margarita Teresa in a Blue Dress

Sophia Remembered:
=> You can't see much of the background in this picture. Everything is dark, black, brown; but you can see the outline of what appears to be a large fireplace.
=> On the mantel there are some gold figurines. I could only make out one which was a golden lion.
=> Above the mantel, there is what appears to be a large mirror or painting.
=> To the side of the fireplace, there might be a table, but I can't see.
=> The background is dark because the artist wanted to focus on the main attraction which is a girl of probably about 12 or 13 who is wearing a beautiful blue dress with a hoop skirt.
=> Starting at the bottom, the dress is fairly long and covers her feet. There are seven horizontal lines of a shimmery silver color that take up a good portion of the bottom of the dress.
=> Moving up to the hoop part of the skirt, there are more of the silver designs in a circle around the hoop part and they make triangles and they meet at the bodice.
=> Some of the silver design goes up the front of her bodice in three diagonal lines - one in the center and two on either sides. You can't see where they end because the color of her dress is a white lace that goes a little above her forearms.
=> Her sleeves are the same blue and they start out slim, but quickly get very large and puffy. They have the same silver strips running diagonally up and down the arms. At the wrists some large frills end with a little golden cuff.
=> She has a choker necklace on that has a small pendant hanging off of it and a pair of blue bow earrings (the same color as her dress) that hang down to her shoulders.
=> She has very pale skin and she looks a little doll-like because of it, but she has pink cheeks.
=> She has dark eyes and her lips are a light orange mixed with pink.
=> She isn't smiling, but she doesn't look upset by being there either.
=> Her hair is almost perm like and is a very, very pale blonde. White - you could almost call it.
=> She has a blue bow that is the same color as her dress which contrasts her blonde hair very nicely.
=> Her right hand has a brown glove and is holding another brown glove because her other hand is bare and is holding a very large brown muff.
=> Below the designs at the top of her dress there are two more large bows of the same color as her dress.
=> The blue of her dress shimmers and is a color that is truly beautiful.

Olivia remembered:
=> In the picture, there is a young girl who has silvery blonde hair and has very pale skin.
=> She is wearing a beautiful blue dress that has a hoop that makes it puffy. The dress is a navy blue, but appears to be made out of velvet.
=> At the bottom of the dress, there are seven lines of gold trim going around it.
=> Towards the top of the dress, there is more gold trim detail.
=> On the front of the dress is a big, blue flower that something in it - like a charm or pendant, or a big bead sewn on it.
=> The sleeves of the dress are very poufy or fluffy. The sleeve on her right arm isn't quite as poufy as the one that is on her left arm.
=> She has kind of pink cheeks.
=> She has frilly cuffs on her dress.
=> She has, in her right hand, she appears to be wearing a glove. She also is holding a handbag. The handle of the handbag is the same color as her glove. The bag is the same color as her dress.
=> Behind her is a large frame that might be a picture or mirror in it.
=> There is also a table under the frame, and there is some gold trinkets on it.
=> The walls appear to be a dark gray or black.
=> She is wearing a necklace with gems in it - diamonds and sapphires in it.
=> She has a very high, dark blue collar.
=> Her hair has a large dark blue flower in it - the same color as her dress.

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2 comments:

Rita said...

So interesting to hear what the girls saw and remembered. Styles have certainly changed in art. :)

Carol said...

Your girls are very observant. Well done.