Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Rodrigo de Villandrando (1588 December 1623) was a court painter during the reign of Philip III of Spain. He worked in the tradition of Alonso Sánchez Coello and Juan Pantoja de la Cruz. His death opened the road to court for the young painter Diego Velázquez from Sevilla. Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (Spanish pronunciation: [ dje o ro ðri e ðe sil a i be la ke ]; June 6, 1599 August 6, 1660) was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist.