Classical Principle Weekly
June 27, 2023
Dare to be Free—the Quest for Juan de Pareja
The portrait of Juan de Pareja (1608-70) by Velazquez (painted 1650, photo below), was that of an Afro-Hispanic painter born into slavery in southern Spain's Andalusia region. He worked as an assistant in the workshop of painter Diego Velázquez. In 1649, Parjea accompanied Velazquez on his second trip to Italy. It was during this trip that Velázquez painted his famous “Portrait of Juan de Pareja”, currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The painting was exhibited in the Pantheon of Rome in March 1650, where it won first prize.
It was during that approximately time that Velázquez signed manumission papers granting Pareja his freedom. From then on, until his death in Madrid, Pareja worked as a major independent painter, executing several master paintings. Pareja's 1661 masterpiece “The Calling of Saint Matthew” is on display at the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is currently presenting an unprecedented exhibition (through July 16, 2023) on the life and artistic achievements of Juan de Pareja. Arturo Schomburg, Harlem Renaissance writer, historian, collector, and scholar was vital to the recovery of Pareia's work. While Schomburg was in grade school, one of his teachers claimed that black people had no history, heroes, or accomplishments. Inspired to prove the teacher wrong, Schomburg went on to amass thousands of documents in support of his efforts to situate Black cultural achievement at the center of American and European classical culture. His personal collection was purchased by Carnegie Corporation in 1926, and became the center of the "Schomberg Collection" of the NYC Public Library. With the proceeds from the sale, Schomberg traveled to Spain in quest of Juan de Pareja and to further his project.
Attached below is the YouTube link to the Zoom presentation on the broader implications and relevance of this "Quest for Juan de Pareja" for the world today. Please enjoy, and as always, we look forward to your comments.
