Velázquez, Los Borrachos, and painting at the Court of Philip IV

the long version

Los Borrachos ("The Drunkards") is Diego de Velazquez's earliest painting of a mythological subject. Created for Philip IV of Spain around 1628-29, its naturalistic portrayal of exuberant peasants drinking wine with Bacchus has long baffled its admirers, who have failed to agree on what the artist has depicted. What prompted Velazquez to try his hand at mythology, and why did he choose such a bewildering subject? In this penetrating study, Steven N. Orso reconstructs Velazquez's early years in the king's service and his competition with rivals for royal favor. By tracing their conflicts over the merits of different styles of painting and by demonstrating the role of history painting as a vehicle for artists to make their reputations at Philip IV's court, Orso establishes the basis for a provocative new explanation of Los Borrachos and Velazquez's reasons for painting it