Antonio Palomino, one of Velázquez’s biographers, recorded that while in Rome Velázquez "made the portrait of Juan de Pareja, his slave and fine painter, which was so like him and so lively that, when he sent it by means of Pareja himself to some friends for their criticism, they just stood looking at the painted portrait and at the original in awe and wonder, not knowing to whom they should speak or who would answer them. The portrait of Juan de Pareja is one of the most important and striking works documented during Velázquez’s second Italian trip. During his two years in Italy Velázquez produced some outstanding portraits of patrons and princes of the Church, including those of Cardinal Camillo Astalli (Hispanic Society, New York), Camillo Massimo (Kingston Lacy, Dorset) and Ferdinando Brandani (Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid). The main purpose of the trip was to buy paintings and sculptures for King Philip IV of Spain, and while he was in Rome, the painter also received the prestigious commission to portray Pope Innocent X (the canvas is now in the Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome). The Background: Between 16, Velázquez travelled to Italy for the second and last time in his life.
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