Manet called him "the greatest painter of all." Picasso was so inspired by his masterpiece Las Meninas that he painted 44 variations of it. Francis Bacon painted a study of his portrait of Pope Innocent X. Monet and Renoir, Corot and Courbet, Degas and Dal ... for so many champions of art history, the ultimate sounding board was--and remains--Diego Rodr guez de Silva y Vel zquez (1599-1660).
This...