Pope Innocent X
Anonymous Artist Diego Velázquez (circle)
Shown from the shoulders up, a man with a flushed complexion, wearing a crimson-red cap and garment, looks at us from the corners of his eyes in this vertical portrait painting. He is brightly lit from behind us and the mahogany-brown background is deep in shadow. The man’s shoulders angle to our right, and he turns his head slightly to look at us with brown, deep-set eyes under arched brows. His wispy, auburn-brown goatee is tinged in silvery gray. His nose is slightly bulbous, and his thin lips are tightly closed in a straight line. Wrinkles and jowls give his face a paunchy look. His tall, flat-topped, fez-shaped hat covers his hair. A white, nearly translucent collar curls up along his neck and flares out to points at his collar. Rose-pink highlights on his red cape suggest it is a shiny material, like silk, and it is fastened with several small, dark buttons down the front.
Details
- Palette
-
Select a color to find related artworks.
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- overall: 49.2 × 41.3 cm (19 3/8 × 16 1/4 in.) framed: 78.4 × 69.5 × 6.99 cm (30 7/8 × 27 3/8 × 2 3/4 in.)
- Department
- CIS-B
- Holding institution
- National Gallery of Art
- Image provider
- national-gallery-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Andrew W. Mellon Collection
Art Genome Taxonomy
8 tags
Subject Matter
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Individual Portrait Both · 99%
The catalog title identifies Pope Innocent X, and the image shows a single sitter in a formal shoulder-length portrait.
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Face Visual · 100%
The composition concentrates on the sitter’s face, including the eyes, nose, mouth, wrinkles, and facial hair.
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Eye Contact Both · 96%
The sitter looks toward the viewer from the corners of his eyes, creating a visibly directed gaze.
Visual Qualities
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Dark Colors Visual · 98%
The image is dominated by dark brown-black, deep red, muted gray, and flesh tones.
Medium and Techniques
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Painting Metadata · 100%
The National Gallery of Art classifies the work as a painting.
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Oil Painting Metadata · 100%
The catalog explicitly identifies the medium as oil on canvas.
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Chiaroscuro Visual · 95%
Illuminated flesh and clothing stand out against a deeply shadowed brown-black background, producing pronounced light-dark contrast.
Time Periods
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17th Century Art Metadata · 99%
The catalog dates the work to approximately 1650, within the seventeenth century.
Source & rights
Circle of Diego Velázquez. Pope Innocent X. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.