Pope Innocent X

Date

1650

Description

Creator of the image: Diego Velázquez
Date of the image creation: 1650
Medium of the image: Oil on canvas
Person depicted: Pope Innocent X

This portrait was painted during Diego Velázquez second trip to Italy, where the then famous artist was given an audience with the Pope and allowed to paint his portrait. Velázquez (1599–1660) is considered one of the most important artists in the history of portrait painting.

There, in Vatican City in the year 1650, the Spanish master rendered the Pontiff with ruddy flesh that clings to his skull. The Pontiff is portrayed as haggard, flushed and tight lipped. The meat that makes up his face is held taut by the depth of his expression. The sharp gaze of his grey-blue eyes takes in the viewer, drawing them into the devastating detail of his fleshy face.

Vatican officials were concerned that the artwork may have offended the Pope, yet legend has it that when he saw the portrait he exclaimed: ‘Troppo vero!’ (‘All too true!’). The artwork was hung on the wall of Pope Innocent X’s official visitor waiting room, to watch over his guests before they entered the inner chamber.

Before becoming Pope Innocent X, the man of the Pamphili family was trained as a lawyer. He was a politically shrewd character, greatly expanding the power and ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Holy See.

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