Portrait of Pope Innocent X
Historical Center
- Location: Portrait of Pope Innocent X
- Date: 1650
The work portrays Giovanni Battista Pamphilj, who became Pope under the name Innocent X from 1644 to 1655. The painting was most probably executed by the great spanish artist in 1650, during his second stay in Rome. Velazquez demonstrates strong influences from the portraits of Tiziano and his work is so realistic that the Pope declared it “too real”.
THINGS TO KNOW: The painting, one of the most famous portraits of all time, inspired a study by Francis Bacon in 1953 characterized by his typical wrenching deformations of subject.
