Diego Velazquez was one of the most important and influential painters in the Spanish Golden Age and the leading artist in King Philip IV's court. To accompany an exhibition at the Museo Nacional del Prado in Spain, this book analyzes the development of Velazquez's court portraits from his second trip to Rome in 1649 to his death in Madrid in 1660, a period that saw the creation of some of the greatest of all masterpieces within this genre, such as Las Meninas.

Also included are portraits produced in Velazquez's circle that focus on the complex process behind the creation of...