UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME 



V EL AZ Q~U E Z 



A BIOGRAPHY AND APPRECIATION. ILLUSTRATED 

 WITH 142 REPRODUCTIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS 

 OF HIS MOST CELEBRATED PICTURES 



DIEGO RODRIGUEZ DE SILVA Y VELAZQUEZ" our Velazquez," 

 as Palomino proudly styles him has been made the subject of innu- 

 merable books in every European language, yet the Editor of this 

 Spanish Series feels that it would not be complete without the inclusion 

 of yet another contribution to the broad gallery of Velazquez literature. 

 The great Velazquez, the eagle in art subtle, simple, incomparable the 

 supreme painter, is still a guiding influence of the art of to-day. This greatest 

 of Spanish artists, a master not only in portrait painting, but in character and 

 animal studies, in landscapes and historical subjects, impressed the grandeur of 

 his superb personality upon all his work. Spain, it has been said, the country 

 whose art was largely borrowed, produced Velazquez, and through him 

 Spanish art became the light of a new artistic life. 



The author cannot boast that he has new data to offer, but he has put 

 forward his conclusions with modesty ; he has reproduced a great deal that is 

 most representative of the artist's work ; and he has endeavoured to keep always 

 in view his object to present a concise, accurate, and readable life of Velazquez. 



UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME 



ROYAL PALACES 



OF SPAIN 



A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF 

 THE SEVEN PRINCIPAL PALACES OF THE SPANISH 

 KINGS. PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED 



SPAIN is beyond question the richest country in the world in the number 

 of its Royal Residences, and while few are without artistic importance, all 

 are rich in historical memories. Thus, from the Alcazar at Seville, which 

 is principally associated with Pedro the Cruel, to the Retiro, built to 

 divert the attention of Philip IV. from his country's decay ; from the Escorial, 

 in which the gloomy mind of Philip II. is perpetuated in stone, to La Granja, 

 which speaks of the anguish and humiliation of Christina before Sergeant Garcia 

 and his rude soldiery ; from Aranjuez to Rio Frio, and from El Pardo, darkened 

 by the agony of a good king, to Miramar, to which a widowed Queen retired to 

 mourn : all the history of Spain, from the splendid days of Charles V. to the 

 present time, is crystallised in the Palaces that constitute the patrimony of the 

 Crown. 



The Royal Palaces of Spain are open to visitors at stated times, and it is 

 hoped that this volume, with its wealth of illustrations, will serve the visitor 

 both as a guide and a souvenir. 



