A Formerly Enslaved Painter and Muse is Finally Given the Spotlight

One of Spanish master Diego Velázquez's most famous and celebrated paintings is a portrait of a man he enslaved in his own studio. Juan de Pareja was a Black man living in Spain in the 1600s, and was an accomplished artist in his own right. A new exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art spotlights his work, and explores the relationship between enslavement and art in seventeenth century Spain. Co-curators David Pullins and Vanessa Valdés join us to discuss the exhibit, titled Juan de Pareja, Afro-Hispanic Painter. It's on view through July 16th.