Portrait of Juan Pareja

Portrait of Juan Pareja

Portrait of Juan Pareja is an oil painting by Diego Velázquez. It dates to 1650. It measures 81.3 × 69.9 cm (32 × 27.5 in). It hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Pareja was Velázquez’s slave. He served as an assistant in his workshop. The picture was painted in Rome. It was displayed publicly at the Pantheon in March 1650. The picture gained widespread admiration. Pareja became a painter in his own right. He was freed by Velázquez in 1654.