Where to See The Waterseller of Seville in London

Diego Velázquez painted The Waterseller of Seville around 1620, before leaving for the Spanish court. An elderly vendor hands a glass of water to a young boy while another figure drinks in the background. The bodegón (kitchen scene) showcases Velázquez's early mastery of naturalistic detail.

The painting's cool palette and precise rendering of textures, particularly the large earthenware jug beaded with moisture, demonstrate notable technical skill for a painter still in his early twenties. It now hangs at Apsley House in London, the former residence of the Duke of Wellington.

The work displayed at Apsley House (the Wellington Museum) in London. The Duke of Wellington acquired it after the Peninsular War, and it remains part of the Wellington Collection.

Velázquez painted this around 1620 in Seville, when he was only about 21 years old. It's considered one of his finest early works before he became court painter in Madrid.

A bodegón is a Spanish genre painting featuring kitchen scenes, food, and drink. Baroque artists in Seville excelled at these works, which combined still life with humble figure subjects.

The painting demonstrates Velázquez's early genius in rendering textures and light. The water droplets on the ceramic jug and the translucent glass show his ability to capture material reality with notable precision.

The Waterseller of Seville

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More by Diego Velázquez

Supper at Emmaus

Juan de Pareja

Portrait of a Cleric

Head of a Man

Also at Apsley House, (Wellington Museum), London

Two Young Men Eating At A Humble Table

An Old Woman Cooking Eggs

Christ in the House of Mary and Martha

Breakfast

The Bean Eater

The Laughing Cavalier

Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting

Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba

Landscape with the Marriage of Isaac and Rebecca

The Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne

Charles I at the Hunt

Judith Slaying Holofernes

Descent from the Cross

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