This year's second session of our virtual club Appointment with Cinema is dedicated to the documentary Velázquez, power and art, by José Manuel Gómez Vidal.
Premiered at the Valladolid International Film Week (Seminci) in 2022, this documentary delves into the lesser-known part of the great Spanish painter Diego Velázquez.
After the successful documentary Murillo, the last journey, Gómez Vidal, a great connoisseur of the Golden Age Spanish, analyzes in this interesting work the career and rise of the author of some of the best works in the history of art and his special relationship with power.
Synopsis: One of the constants in Velázquez's life was the search for the favour of the royal court: first in his native Seville, frequenting the circles of power, and later in the service of King Philip IV, he learned that the painter's glory depended on his contact with the powerful ones. But why this obsession with becoming a member of the aristocracy? Was his painting an end or an instrument? And above all: why did he hide his personal life?
The activity is moderated by staff from the Cervantes Institute and has the participation of specialists linked to the realization of the film (filmmakers, screenwriters...). Enjoy cinema in Spanish!