The sculpture dedicated to the painter Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez presides over the main entrance of the western façade of the Prado Museum. Built on the initiative of the Circle of Fine Arts, its materialisation is attributed to the sculptor Aniceto Marinas on a pedestal designed by the architect Vicente Lampérez y Romea. It was solemnly inaugurated on June 14, 1899 by the Queen Regent María Cristina of Hapsburg and King Alfonso XIII, coinciding with the third centenary of the birth of Velázquez. Over time, the pedestal would undergo some modifications, such as the loss of the laurel branches carved in the pilasters on the main side.

© Fernando Madariaga