Zacarías González Velázquez facts for kids

Self-portrait (1810s)

Zacarías González Velázquez (born November 5, 1763 – died January 31, 1834) was a talented Spanish painter. He was most famous for painting pictures of people (portraits) and religious scenes.

Life of a Painter

Zacarías Velázquez was born in Madrid, Spain. He came from a family of artists! His father, Antonio González Velázquez, was a painter. His grandfather, Pablo, and his uncles, Luis and Alejandro, were also artists, working as sculptors or painters. Zacarías even had two brothers, Isidro and Cástor, who became painters too.

Zacarías started learning art in 1777 at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. This was a famous art school where his father was the Director. Zacarías later became the Director himself! At the Academy, he learned from a teacher named Mariano Salvador Maella. After only two years, Zacarías won first prize in a painting competition.

He finished his studies in 1782 and quickly started getting jobs. He helped decorate several rooms in the Royal Palace of El Pardo. Many of these decorations showed scenes from old myths. He also worked as a designer for the Royal Tapestry Factory. This factory made beautiful woven pictures called tapestries. Zacarías also painted decorations in big churches like the Jaén Cathedral and Toledo Cathedral. He also worked at the Oratory of the Caballero de Gracia in Madrid.

In 1790, he earned another degree from the Academy. Three years later, he became an assistant professor there. He taught at the Academy until 1807. Then, he was promoted to Deputy Director of Painting. This was a tough time in Spain because of the Napoleonic Wars. These wars made it hard for art and culture to grow.

Things got much better when Ferdinand VII became king. Zacarías continued to rise in his career. In 1828, he became the Director of the Academy, the same job his father had. He stayed in this important role until 1831. Zacarías González Velázquez passed away in Madrid when he was 69 years old.

Selected Paintings

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  Portrait of Ferdinand VII (1814)

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  Portrait of
  Maria Luisa of Parma (1789)

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  The Miracle of Saint Casilda (c. 1820)

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  Manuela González Velázquez playing the piano (c. 1820)

See also

In Spanish: Zacarías González Velázquez para niños