Title: Camillo Astalli

Artist: Velázquez (Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez) (Spanish, Seville 1599–1660 Madrid)

Date: 1650

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 24 × 19 1/8 in. (61 × 48.5 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: The Hispanic Society of America, New York

A distant relative by marriage to Pope Innocent X, Camillo Astalli was made a prince of the church on September 19, 1650, and assumed the name Cardinal Pamphili. Here, Velázquez conveys a sense of the momentary and unfixed. The listing biretta atop the cardinal's head adds to the instability of the fleeting pose, as would have the original off-center placement of the sitter. This baroque exuberance was tempered when, in a later period, the canvas was cut down on the left and bottom to align the cardinal with the central axis of the painting.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/726747