New Exhibit At The Metropolitan Museum Of Art Explores Work Of Enslaved Afro-Hispanic Artists

By Jessi Mitchell, CBS New York

April 2, 2023

A groundbreaking new exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art opens next week. It explores the work of Juan de Pareja, an artist enslaved by Spanish painter Diego Velázquez in the 1600s.

Pareja's face has graced the halls of the Met for more than 50 years. His portrait, painted in 1650, is considered to be one of Velasquez's masterpieces, and it features the man the artist enslaved for two decades.

"In many ways, once people saw this painting of Pareja, they thought, 'Wow, this guy is absolutely incredible,' and in the process, probably Pareja himself became famous as a face," said David Pullins, associate curator of European Painting for the museum.

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