After Edouard Manet discovered VelázquezÆs painting to be the precurso r of the impressionist gaze, the public at large expressed its admirat ion for the genius who succeeded as no other had done in capturing the visible world in the colours and forms of his paintings. To avoid an artistically oriented contemplation that may be over enthusiastic at t imes and to shun the ruses of todayÆs contest of riddles that art hist ory amounts to in this field is the arduous task that this new examina tion of the historical Velázquez sets out to perform in order to clari fy for once and for all the painterÆs complex iconographic schemes.áDe parting from an accurate knowledge of the state of research and source s, Martin WarnkeÆs thorough study traces the basic stages in the life of the greatest Spanish painter and, when describing his capital works , appreciates the painterÆs accomplishments for their true worth, writ ing with great soundness and without neglecting the underlying questio n, which it sets out