Graduation Year
2012
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.L.A.
Degree Granting Department
Humanities and Cultural Studies
Major Professor
David Underwood, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Andrew Berish, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Scott Ferguson, Ph.D.
Keywords
Bodegone, Spanish Baroque, Seville, Place, Interweltsein
Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to question the art historical notion of influences, specifically in the case of the seventeenth century Spanish Baroque artist Diego Velázquez. His work is often seen as an extension of the realist movements in Flanders and Italy at the turn of the seventeenth century, but that view is extremely reductive. Velázquez strove to depict the world around him as he saw it, attempting to incorporate the transient nature of the scenes before him into his works. The city of Seville, in which Velázquez lived and worked, provided the setting and cultural elements that would orient his work He was able to simultaneously break free of the conventions that had been placed on artists in the early seventeenth century and embrace his proto-impressionistic artistic style while developing himself as an artist.
His paintings, especially his bodegones, showcase the low-class culture and citizens of Seville. Velázquez's subjective representation of these low class subjects and scenes allow him to re-create the city of Seville on his canvas, allowing the modern-day viewer to experience the represented environment. Velázquez's artwork allows his viewers to be immersed Interweltsien (in-the-world) and experience the world that he was depicting. This thesis will use both Place Theory and Phenomenology to better understand the works that Velázquez created while he was living in Seville.
Scholar Commons Citation
Cosma, Elyse June, "The Early Works of Velázquez Through a Phenomenological Lens" (2012). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/4019
