Diego Velázquez (1599-1660), the Spanish royal court painter​

by Dr Sopie Oosterwijk - A change of speaker

Dear Members and Guests,

We invite you to join us for the 6th lecture of the season given by Dr Sopie Oosterwijk on ‘Diego Velázquez (1599-1660), the Spanish royal court painter​’ in the Atrium on Tuesday 10th March 2026 at 20.00 hours.

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez is without doubt the greatest and most influential Spanish painter of the 17th century.  Early in his career he caught the attention of the young king Philip IV and became his trusted court painter.  As such Velazquez produced portraits of the king, his family and courtiers that increasingly reveal great psychological depth.  Velazquez also painted religious works, genre and mythological scenes such as the 'Rokeby Venus', but his fame rests in particular on his portraits, e.g. 'Las Meninas'.  This lecture will tell us more about the life and work of Velazquez, but also about the Spanish court of Philip IV.

This will be a live lecture with the lecturer physically present in the Atrium.  We are hoping that members and Guests will take the opportunity to come to the Atrium.  

For those unable to be present at the Atrium, this lecture will also be streamed via a Zoom to those who registered.

You are requested to sign up for the lecture beforehand, also if you are coming to join us in person at the Atrium, by clicking on the sentence at the 'How to book' section.