With a backdrop of the late renaissance and the bloody Inquisition, Velázquez’s life was filled with intrigue. Join New Canaan Library in welcoming back artist and lecturer Cliff Tisdell, for a discussion on the fascinating life of Diego Velázquez. The event takes place on Thursday, July 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the Adrian Lamb Room. Please register online at newcanaanlibrary.org.

Velázquez was an unconventional artist and man, not only with his radical style of painting but his subject matter. Unlike other artists of the time, he painted not only kings and queens but peasants, buffoons, jesters, dwarfs and other performers from the king’s royal court. These portraits rival Rembrandt for their skill and exploration of the soul. With dreams of knighthood, Velázquez risked everything by not disclosing a secret that if discovered, would have brought down on him the wrath of the Inquisitors. What was that secret? Cliff Tisdell will explore this question as well as look at this unparalleled artist’s incredible paintings and the many artists he influenced, and why Manet called him “the painter’s painter.”

Cliff Tisdell is a visual artist. In an effort to add depth and insight to his presentation on Velázquez, which Tisdell has been making to organizations and libraries for the last two years, he recently returned from a trip to Spain where he did additional research on Velázquez.