Das Geheimnis von Velázquez

Édouard Manet praised him as the «painter of painters», Salvador Dalí called him the «glory of Spain», and Pablo Picasso dedicated an entire series of paintings to him. But who was Diego Velázquez (1599–1660) really? With «Las Meninas», he created one of the most influential paintings of all time. He painted portraits of the Spanish royal family, the Pope, and ordinary people alike, leaving behind a body of work comprising more than 200 paintings.

Despite this fame, much about Velázquez remains shrouded in mystery. Where did his unmatched mastery of light and shadow come from – an approach that would only gain widespread recognition a century later with Impressionism? How did he achieve such unparalleled realism in his portraits? The documentary traces the echoes of a brilliant artist whose influence resonates in countless works by world-famous painters and continues to pose questions to this day. A unique cinematic journey through 400 years of living art history.