Kitchen Scene
Diego Velázquez · 1618–20 · Art Institute of Chicago
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From the museum
In this modest kitchen scene, a type known as a bodegón (from the Spanish word for pantry), Diego Velázquez depicted a young African woman at work, surrounded by exquisitely rendered pots, jugs, a mortar and pestle, and a crumpled paper wrapper for spices. In creating this painting, Velázquez may have used an enslaved woman from his or an associate’s household as a model. Slavery was widespread in the young artist’s hometown of Seville, Spain, and Velázquez, his father, and his teacher, Francisco Pacheco, were all enslavers.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Details
- Maker
- Diego Velázquez (Spanish, 1599–1660)
- Date
- 1618–20
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 55.9 × 104.2 cm (21 7/8 × 41 1/8 in.); Framed: 74.9 × 125.1 × 7.3 cm (29 1/2 × 49 1/4 × 2 7/8 in.)
- Place of origin
- Spain
- Held by
- Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · On view · Gallery 211
- Credit line
- Robert A. Waller Memorial Fund
Image: Art Institute of Chicago, CC0
