Diego Velázquez

Hello! My name is Diego Velázquez, and I was a painter. I was born a very long time ago, in the summer of 1599, in a sunny city in Spain called Seville. Ever since I was a little boy, I loved to draw and paint more than anything. When I was about twelve years old, in 1611, I went to study with a wonderful teacher named Francisco Pacheco. He showed me how to mix colors and make my paintings look just like real life.

As I got older, people started to notice my art. Then, something amazing happened. In 1623, the King of Spain, Philip IV, asked me to come to the capital city, Madrid, to be his special court painter. It was a very important job. I moved into the palace and spent my days painting pictures of the king, the queen, and their children, the prince and princesses. The king liked my paintings so much that he didn't want anyone else to paint his portrait. I felt very proud to be the king’s favorite painter.

I painted many pictures, but my most famous one is called 'Las Meninas,' which means 'The Maids of Honour.' I painted it in 1656. It’s a huge painting of the little princess, Infanta Margarita Teresa, surrounded by her friends, her dog, and even her governess. And if you look very closely on the left side, you can see a surprise. I painted myself in the picture, standing next to a giant canvas with my paintbrush. It’s like a secret snapshot of a busy day in the palace.

I spent almost forty years as the king's painter, capturing the world around me with my art. I lived to be 61 years old, and my life was filled with color and creativity. Today, my paintings are famous all over the world. People can see them in big museums, and they still look as real and full of life as the day I painted them. I hope they show you that with a little paint, you can capture a moment and make it last forever.