Goya's etchings
of Velazquez's work

		In 1778, Goya made his first series of etchings. They were copies in aquatint of seventeen oil paintings by Velazquez which belonged to the royal collection. Goya made the series at the beginning of his career as court painter. His detailed study of Velazquez had as much impact on Goya as the training he received from Luzán and Bayeu, or his contact with the Italian painters he saw in his travels in 1771-72. Goya made etchings of Velazquez' work and also painted copies of some of his portraits such as Aesop, Mennipus and Innocent X, one of the great portraits in art history. This series shows the admiration that Goya felt for the greatest Spanish painter of the 17th century. Velazquez was without doubt his primary source of inspiration, especially in the work he did as a portrait painter. After the painter's death, His son stated in the biography of his father written for the Real Academia de San Fernando that his father was 'an observer, and with great veneration, of Rembrandt and Velazquez'. The copperplates were donated to the Real Calcografía in 1790. You may see the complete series in the index of Velazquez's reproductions. Bibliography Gassier, P. Dibujos de Goya : Los Albumes. Friburgo, 1973. Gassier, P. Dibujos de Goya : Estudios para grabados y pinturas. Friburgo, 1975. Mangiante, P. J. Goya e l'Italia. Roma, 1992. *Javier García Marco*
Philip the III

Margarita of Austria

Philip the IV

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