NEW YORK, NY.- Kultur announces the DVD release of Vel醶quez: The Painter of Painters will be available on DVD October 26, 2010 for a suggested retail price of $19.99. Although he left a legacy of little more than one hundred canvasses, Vel醶quez has exerted an enormous influence on other painters, particularly over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Manet declared him "the painter of painters." Between August 17 and December 30, 1957, Picasso locked himself away with a copy of Las Meninas (Maids of Honour) and painted 40 variations on the picture, and Francis Bacon was obsessed with Vel醶quez's portrait of Innocent X.

Las Meninas is widely considered to be the masterpiece of masterpieces and the enigma it presents has provoked endless speculation about what it reveals about Vel醶quez and his artistic intentions. This film touches on the debate and reveals how scientific examination of the canvas has now shed new light on the subject.

What little is known about the life of Vel醶quez is based on a panegyric written by his father-in-law (the painter Pachecho); the inventory of his library (Vel醶quez was a well-read man, more interested in mathematics than theology); documents relating to his petition to be admitted to the ranks of the nobility; and the itineraries of his two trips to Italy as the King's envoy. This portrait of the artist employs to the full Vel醶quez's paintings to reveal his character; from the paintings of his youth, to the paintings of the royal family and entourage destined for the walls of the Spanish palace.

Vel醶quez: The Painter of Painters
Street Date: October 26, 2010
SRP: $19.99
SKU: D4552
Run Time: 56 minutes
UPC: 032031455290
ISBN: 978-0-7697-9013-8
Territory: U.S. and Canada--Region 1