Netflix is already taking some time to purchase the rights to produce a series on the subject Story of a novelwhich does not lack anything to be a guaranteed success. yes in Baroque There would have been a “Hey!”, it would no doubt have been a theme … cover. 17th century. Seville and Madrid. The heroes, three of the best Spanish artists: Diego Velázquez, court painter of Felipe IV; Juan Bautista Martinez del Mazohis favorite and most advanced student, W Francisco Pachecohis father-in-law. Story: Velazquez and his wife Juana learn this from a maid His daughter, Francesca, is 14 years oldspent two nights with Martinez del Mazo with him Lose innocenceThey had gotten engaged secretly. They try by all means to ensure that this marriage does not happen and decide to send the young woman to Seville under the protection of her grandfather. There is no trace of her. Martinez del Mazo goes to the church authorities to fulfill the marriage vow. It starts A lawsuit lasted several months.
Two art historians narrate it in an article, as a result of their research on Historical Archive of the Archdiocese of Madrid (its headquarters are No. 3 Calle de la Pasa), where they found the unpublished marriage file. Patricia Manzano Rodriguez (Madrid, 1996) She has been a curator at the Meadows Museum in Dallas, a small meadow in Texas, for two years. He studied art history at the Autonomous University of Madrid. for him Doctoral thesis“Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo: Authorship, Canonicality, and Authenticity in the Velázquez Workshop,” conducted at Durham University (England). It will be completed with a book in which the full text of the file appears. “Just this month, I have to hand in the final manuscript of the book, which will hopefully be published next year. “Harvey Miller will publish it,” Patricia says in a phone call with ABC.
Why Mazo? “Because of how much we know about Velázquez and how little we know about the people who were around him. I was very surprised from the beginning because we knew practically nothing about the character who collaborated so much with Velázquez and who was by his side. “This is where it all started.” Was this file easy to find? “In general, you can ask for documents and they let you see them without any problem. In this case it was a bit more complicated. They told me they had to look for him. I gave them all the information, names, marriage date… It was very frustratingBecause they took some time About six months to locate it. But they found it, and I’m so grateful for that. When they called me, I was in Dallas. I needed someone trustworthy and I sent Mario to see him. He was the one who told me what appeared and that it was a gem. I could see the original, but I couldn’t make it out. I consulted him and asked for a copy to copy quietly. Refers to Mario Zamora Pérez (Cuenca, 1993). Although it was an individual investigation, he turned to a colleague and friend, an art historian at the Autonomous University of Madrid, working in the Engraving Department of the National Library on a one-year scholarship. “Mario is much better at paleontology than I am,” warns Patricia. “When I found the document, all I wanted was to get it out as quickly as possible.”
On the left, “Self-Portrait” by Velázquez. On the right, the portrait he painted of his father-in-law, Francisco Pacheco, also a painter
Patricia was following him Marriage file Between Mazo and Francesca Velázquez, but he never imagined what he would find: “I was expecting something very short and simple, that would confirm everything we already knew.” Mario was the first to read it: “I thought there would be one or two pages and to my surprise there were 60 pages. It included a lawsuit. He is treasure. The paper was written by Patricia, and I assisted her in transcribing it.
There was never any doubt that Mazo’s marriage to Francisca was not accepted by Velázquez.
We go back to the seventeenth century. We left Francisca behind and were secretly sent to Seville and her whereabouts are unknown. “It has always been thought that in the same way that Velázquez married Juana, the daughter of Francisco Pacheco, his teacher, Mazo married Francisca, the daughter of Velázquez, his teacher. It was believed that Mazo had followed Velázquez’s personal and professional career and there was never any doubt that he did not accept this marriage. But nothing could be further from the truth. An ecclesiastical lawsuit has been opened beginning with Mazo’s complaint To prevent Velázquez and his wife from celebrating the engagement and to send Francisca to Seville against her will. Lorenzo de IturrizarraTreasurer of the Judicial Church of Alcalá de Henares, Vicar General and Magistrate of Madrid, orders the interrogation of several persons Witnesses. Such as Juan Sánchez Navarro Bustamante, surgeon and barber; Santiago de Benavente, skilled builder; Gaspar de Benavente, slave of the painter; And Ines Garcia, Velasquez’s maid, confirms the existence of the oath.
“It is interesting that the Church in this case stands against Pacheco, because he was an observer of the Inquisition.”
Mazo goes to Seville in search of his fiancée. Was it common to marry at 14? “Today it seems inconceivable to us, but in the seventeenth century it was not so strange either,” says the historian. In this city the process is in the hands Juan de Riberacanon of the Cathedral of Seville, the official judge and vicar general of the archbishop, who gives the order to the bailiffs to find Francisca. They search for her at her home to no avail. His aunt, Beatrice de CardenasAlthough they found a black velvet dress that belonged to the young woman. In a house Juan Rodriguez de SilvaVelasquez’s father, and Francisco Pacheco’s father. “It is interesting that the church in this case is against it, because it was said so Supervisor of the Inquisition. That is, he was one of the artists who made sure that sacred images were compatible with propriety,” says Manzano.
Francesca hasn’t shown up yet. The authorities point to Pacheco as responsible and threaten him with excommunication and a fine of 200 ducats. Everything indicates that Pacheco hid Francisca in the Monastery of San Leandro in Seville. The abbess was questioned but she denied knowing anything.
The judge places Francisca and Pacheco’s assets in the custody of Martínez Montanes, who had a dispute with Velasquez’s father-in-law.
If that is not enough, there is a development in the text and the sculptor appears on the scene Juan Martinez Montanes. They are placed in their custody Seized assets To the value of Pacheco 200 ducats (Including a nude photo). We said this was surprising, because there was a dispute between him and Pacheco: the former accused the latter of having multiple colors in sculptures, a job reserved for painters. We still have no news about Francisca and her maternal grandfather The third expelled (I can go to Mass, but I cannot participate in the sacraments such as confession and communion.) When it doesn’t work, decide Forbid him for the sake of a cursehighest category.
Francisca appeared on May 5Accompanied by Ana de Silva and Velázquez’s father Abdul. She denied on two occasions the existence of a marriage agreement between her and Mazo, and that she was subjected to pressure from her family. They even had a confrontation. As he did with Pacheco’s assets, the judge placed Francisca in Martinez-Montanes’ custody. “We don’t know whether he is there as a friend or foe of Pacheco, because he is the one who takes Francisca when the judge places her under his jurisdiction, and he is the one who collects Pacheco’s paintings and casts,” Manzano says.
Francisca acknowledges the existence of a marriage agreement with Mazo dated March 30, 1633
The lawsuit goes back to Madridwhere finally Francisca confesses The existence of that agreement. We don’t know what happened to make him change his mind. Dated March 30, 1633 and signed by both, it reads as follows: “…we have given each other a drawing and a word of marriage which we have accepted and sworn to in form, so that we may by no means break it and so that it may cost us and we may be induced to comply and marry by this word, and we form this document with our names…” (sic).
The two historians point out the possibility that Velazquez’s daughter was pregnant
They give the couple six days to get married. They get married in pArroquia Santiago de Madrid he August 21, 1633 They moved into Velazquez’s house on Concepcion Jerónima Street. As a dowry, he gave Mazo the position of chamberlain. Historians point out Possibility that Francesca was pregnant. “The document shows us that Francisca’s life would have been ruined if we had known that she had broken off their engagement. At first, we thought it might be due to pregnancy, as it coincided so well with the afternoon. It starts in March, until August or September, which is when the process ends. Francesca will have several natural abortions. Subordinate Ten children Patricia Manzano warns that only five of them (among them Melkor, Gaspar, and Balthazar) reach puberty. “It is a hypothesis that we are studying. It will achieve balance. But it is one of the gaps that exists,” adds Mario Zamora. After Francisca’s death. Mazo would marry two more timesWith Don Francisca de la Vega and with Ana de la Vega, who he believes is his sister. “Pacheco repaired his relationship with the church, but that was not recorded in the document, nor was the return of the assets. “We don’t know when it will happen, or even if it happens,” Patricia says.
“The Painter’s Family,” by Juan Bautista Martinez del Mazo
Why, after this bitter lawsuit, did Velazquez and Mazo maintain close cooperation? Did Velazquez want to hide the case to avoid shame and be able to continue working at court? “If it was known It could have been a scandal. Velasquez He was able to report him for statutory rape“He was with a minor without the father’s consent, but he decided to send her to Seville,” Mario explains. “I don’t know to what extent it would have jeopardized his position in court, but it would have been… A huge shame for the family. Try to hide it by all means. We also do not know the reasons why Velázquez opposed the marriage. Seeing Velázquez’s career, he wanted to be recognized as a nobleman, and eventually became a Knight of the Order of Santiago, something he fought for throughout his life. I think it is He expected the best for his daughter.. Obviously these are also our hypotheses, but I think it makes a lot of sense that he wants to move up socially by marrying his daughter. “A scandal like this would have made things very difficult,” Manzano explains. “Mazo is interested in strengthening himself in Velázquez’s workshop.”
Little is known about Mazo’s life. This document sheds light on it. “It has always been said that he was a painter from Cuenca, but other sources tell us about Madrid, the Burgos Mountains, which is what is now Cantabria… The date of birth was thought to be around 1610 or 1612, but we did not have an exact date either. “I never thought that so much exciting information would come out from there,” Patricia says. The document lists Mazo’s date and place of birth: Cuenca, 1605. He was already a painter when he moved to Madrid in 1625, probably in a workshop Pedro de las CuevasTeacher of painters such as Juan Carreño de Miranda and Francisco de Burgos. Perhaps he was the one who put Mazo in touch with Velasquez. It also provides confirmation of Mazo entered Velazquez’s service in 1631After returning from his first trip to Italy. He accepts him as his officer. “There are still gaps that haven’t been filled,” says Mario. “We would have liked to continue the topic in Seville, since the process has moved there. “We wanted to go to the Seville archives to investigate, but we couldn’t for work reasons and in the end we had to choose the priority: raising the issue as soon as possible,” says Patricia.
And I saw what I saw, The Golden Age was not as boring as they make it out to be: Caravaggio fled from Rome to Naples after killing a man, and Velazquez had him Illegitimate child On his second trip to Italy… “Stories like this give life to us historians,” says Mario. For journalists too.
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