Camillo Astalli
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.A distant relative by marriage to Pope Innocent X, Camillo Astalli was made a prince of the church on September 19, 1650, and assumed the name Cardinal Pamphili. Here, Velázquez conveys a sense of the momentary and unfixed. The listing biretta atop the cardinal's head adds to the instability of the fleeting pose, as would have the original off-center placement of the sitter. This baroque exuberance was tempered when, in a later period, the canvas was cut down on the left and bottom to align the cardinal with the central axis of the painting.
Artwork Details
- Title: Camillo Astalli
- Artist: Velázquez (Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez) (Spanish, Seville 1599–1660 Madrid)
- Date: 1650
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 24 × 19 1/8 in. (61 × 48.5 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: The Hispanic Society of America, New York
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings