Pope Innocent X
Diego Velázquez·c. 1650
Historical Context
Velázquez's portrait of Pope Innocent X, painted during his second Italian journey in 1650, was immediately recognized as the greatest portrait of the century—Innocent himself reportedly said it was 'too true.' The original, now in the Doria Pamphilj collection in Rome, became one of the most copied and studied works in Western art, spawning numerous workshop replicas and later homages including Francis Bacon's celebrated screaming pope series. Innocent X Pamphilj had been elected pope in 1644 despite Spanish opposition, and his papacy was marked by nepotism and political conflict, qualities that Velázquez's relentlessly honest characterization appears to acknowledge. This version from the circle of Velázquez reflects the immediate demand for replicas of a composition recognized as a masterpiece upon completion.
Technical Analysis
The oil on canvas reproduces the essential elements of Velázquez's composition — the seated pope in crimson and white — though without the master's extraordinary handling of paint that made the original a touchstone of portraiture.
Provenance
Sir Robert Walpole, 1st earl of Orford [1676-1745], Houghton Hall, Norfolk; by inheritance to his son, Robert Walpole, 2nd earl of Orford [1700-1751], Houghton Hall; by inheritance to his son, George Walpole, 3rd earl of Orford [1730-1791], Houghton Hall; sold 1779, through Count Aleksei Semonovich Musin-Pushkin, Russian ambassador to England, to Catherine II, empress of Russia [1729-1796], Saint Petersburg; Imperial Hermitage Gallery, Saint Petersburg, inv. no. 418; sold July 1930, as a painting by Velázquez, through (Matthiesen Gallery, Berlin; P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., London; and M. Knoedler & Co., New York) to Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; deeded 30 March 1932 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1937 to NGA.
