Luncheon by Diego Velázquez

Luncheon or “Breakfast” (about 1617). It comes from a famous series by Velázquez called “Bodegones” – scenes of everyday life. In the painting here we can see the genre scene of a regular meal, where three common Spanish persons of different ages eat in the tavern. It’s a combination of a group portrait and still life. We see ceramic dish with fish, a glass of wine, pomegranate and bread. A boy in the center of the painting looks excited and smiles – for the first time in his life he is allowed to sip some wine with the adults. The young man looking at the audience in the right part of the painting is supposedly Velázquez self – portrait.

Velázquez created this depiction of a Breakfast, when he was just 18 years old. He was attracted to scenes from the life of the common people. The males gathered around the table represent three ages of human life and the young artist managed to give a precise characterization of each personage. The work was painted under the influence of Caravaggio’s oeuvre, as is indicated by the dark background, the abrupt contrasts of light and shade, and the sense of volume in the objects lying on the table. Note the bread and the handle of the knife – they seem to extend beyond the surface of the canvas. The old man depicted occurs in other paintings by the artist. The boy is also known: he lived in Velázquez’s home and served him as a model. The younger man seated on the right, though, undoubtedly has an entirely specific portrait resemblance and cannot be found in other works by the artist. It has been suggested that this image is a self-portrait of Velázquez. The old man’s white collar is hanging on the wall. It was the custom at the time when you sat down to eat indoors to remove and hang up your hat and collar. In these representatives of the common people Velázquez depicted traits of character typical of the Spanish: cheerfulness and restraint, good-naturedness and a certain austerity.