by Elizabeth Borton De Trevino
First published 1996
Juan de Pareja works as a slave in the household of Diego Velázquez, Spain's most celebrated court painter. In the artist's Madrid studio, Juan mixes pigments, prepares canvases, and observes his master create portraits of kings and nobles. Though forbidden by law from practicing art himself, Juan feels the pull of painting in his blood. He watches Velázquez's every brushstroke, memorizes color combinations, and dreams of creating his own works. The Spanish court buzzes with intrigue and artistic rivalry, but Juan must navigate a more dangerous path. His desire to paint conflicts with his position as property. When he secretly begins to create art, he risks everything he has built in Velázquez's workshop. Juan faces an impossible choice between safety and his calling as an artist. His journey explores the price of artistic freedom and the bonds between master and servant in seventeenth-century Spain.
Genres: art, literary-fiction, historical-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: forbidden-art, master-servant-relationship
Setting: Madrid, Spain
Period: Seventeenth Century
224 pages · Hardcover · McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin
Content warnings: slavery