Vulcan's Forge

Greece to Paris, 530 BCE–1890

Diego Velázquez

Vulcan's Forge

1630

Oil on canvas, 87 3/4 × 114 1/4 in. Museo del Prado, Madrid

Diego Velázquez (Spanish, 1599–1660). Look at the paint handling: the god at left is a glow of thin, quick strokes, while the smiths are built up solidly.

Look at

  • Rays around Apollo's head are flicked on in short pale lines over the wall.
  • His orange robe is painted in long fluid strokes, with the folds barely described.
  • The smiths' backs and arms are modelled firmly in warm light and cool shadow, every muscle in place.
  • The space is made by the figures: each stands at a different depth, and the room recedes behind them.
  • Apollo tells the smith god that his wife is unfaithful; the workers freeze at the news.

Image: Museo del Prado image, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (faithful reproduction of a public-domain 2D work)

13 / 21