1636 · Museo del Prado, Madrid

The court jester, posing like an actor, stands in a curiously indeterminate space showing no floor-line. This portrait is revolutionary in that Velázquez reduces space to a neutral element in picture-making. Later painters such as Goya and Manet were enthusiastic about this masterpiece, not least for its originally glowing tones of grey in the background, now turned to an unattractive ochre.