Don Adrian Pulido Pareja
Artist: Juan Bautista Martinez Del Mazo (Spanish, died 1667)
Original Dimensions: 80 1/4" x 45"
Location: National Gallery of Art, London
About Artwork: (After 1647) "A commanding male figure stares out at us, his white lace collar, shimmering silk sleeves and red sash standing out against his sombre black clothing and the nondescript background. This is Don Adrián Pulido Pareja, a distinguished captain in the Spanish royal navy. He wears the Knight’s badge of the Order of Santiago, awarded to him in 1647, in the form of a gold medal decorated with a red cross in the shape of a sword. In his left hand he holds a wide-brimmed hat, and he grasps the wooden baton of a commander in his right. When the National Gallery bought this portrait at the end of the nineteenth century, it was thought to be by Diego Velázquez, whose name appears in the inscription centre left, along with the date ‘1639’ (both have since been shown not to be original). The portrait has plausibly been attributed to Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo, Velázquez’s son-in-law and principal assistant." - (National Gallery of Art, London)

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