The Surrender of Breda
Artist: Diego Velázquez
Year Composed: 1634
Artistic Movement: Baroque
Nationality: Spain
Floor Found in Château: Second Floor
Year Composed: 1634
Artistic Movement: Baroque
Nationality: Spain
Floor Found in Château: Second Floor
About the Artwork
Inspired by the Siege of Breda during the Eighty Years War between the Dutch Republic and Spain, Diego Velázquez depicts the result of that battle within The Surrender of Breda. Breda was an inlet where the Mark and Aa Rivers combine within the Netherlands. Controlling the convergence of these two rivers would be key in military and trade during the war, and Velázquez depicts the moment when the Dutch surrendered the territory to King Philip II and the Spanish Empire. The painting is also known as The Lances due to the large number of lances carried by the Spanish Army on the right side of the canvas, highlighting both their power and numbers.
About the Artist
As the leading painter of King Philip IV's court, Spanish artist Diego Velázquez was the preeminent master of the Spanish Baroque Age. Replicating the style of Caravaggio with his extreme use of chiaroscuro, Velázquez was able to exhibit an abundance of drama and emotion within his paintings. Aside from his genre scenes, Velázquez depicted portraits and scenes of Spanish nobility, including his paintings of Philip IV in Brown and Silver (1632), Portrait of Pablo de Valladolid (1635), and his most famous work: Las Meninas (1656). If Caravaggio was the master of dramatic, tenebrist paintings in Italy, Velázquez was his counterpart in Spain.
About the Movement
The Surrender of Breda was composed in the Baroque Age of art. After the Renaissance Age, Baroque art was encouraged and influenced by the Catholic Church and the Counter Reformation to bring citizens back to Catholicism from the simple and austere Protestantism. Baroque art tended to be highly decorative and extravagant, creating dramatic scenes and vivid narratives through its painting and sculpture. Some of the most famous Baroque artists included Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the Carracci Brothers (Annibale, Agostino, and Ludovico), Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, and Pietro da Cortona.
Location of Original Work of Art: Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain
Inspired by the Siege of Breda during the Eighty Years War between the Dutch Republic and Spain, Diego Velázquez depicts the result of that battle within The Surrender of Breda. Breda was an inlet where the Mark and Aa Rivers combine within the Netherlands. Controlling the convergence of these two rivers would be key in military and trade during the war, and Velázquez depicts the moment when the Dutch surrendered the territory to King Philip II and the Spanish Empire. The painting is also known as The Lances due to the large number of lances carried by the Spanish Army on the right side of the canvas, highlighting both their power and numbers.
About the Artist
As the leading painter of King Philip IV's court, Spanish artist Diego Velázquez was the preeminent master of the Spanish Baroque Age. Replicating the style of Caravaggio with his extreme use of chiaroscuro, Velázquez was able to exhibit an abundance of drama and emotion within his paintings. Aside from his genre scenes, Velázquez depicted portraits and scenes of Spanish nobility, including his paintings of Philip IV in Brown and Silver (1632), Portrait of Pablo de Valladolid (1635), and his most famous work: Las Meninas (1656). If Caravaggio was the master of dramatic, tenebrist paintings in Italy, Velázquez was his counterpart in Spain.
About the Movement
The Surrender of Breda was composed in the Baroque Age of art. After the Renaissance Age, Baroque art was encouraged and influenced by the Catholic Church and the Counter Reformation to bring citizens back to Catholicism from the simple and austere Protestantism. Baroque art tended to be highly decorative and extravagant, creating dramatic scenes and vivid narratives through its painting and sculpture. Some of the most famous Baroque artists included Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the Carracci Brothers (Annibale, Agostino, and Ludovico), Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, and Pietro da Cortona.
Location of Original Work of Art: Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain