In the era of Rembrandt, Rubens, and Van Dyke, Spain had its own great painter—Diego Vel├ísquez. His assistant is Juan, an African slave who helps his master in his studio by preparing paints and stretching canvasses. Soon, by spending time in the studio and watching his master's technique, Juan begins to teach himself to paint too. But such work as the creation of art is forbidden to slaves. Delighted with his work but carefully guarding his secret, Juan is torn between the need to protect himself and the need to reveal his talent.
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"I read this excellent book with my 10-yr-old son. This Newberry Medal winner from 1966 is an excellent historical fiction exploring the life of Don Diego de Velasquez, the renowned 17th century Spanish painter, and his long-time assistant, Juan de Pareja. Trevino did an excellent job of portraying life in the Spanish court as well as shedding light on the life of an artist. My son thoroughly enjoyed the story as did I. The internet can be a wonderful thing. It allowed us to study the works of the artist while we were reading about them. It was a great exploration of both the time period as well as the art of Velasquez. Highly recommended." — Lori (4 out of 5 stars)
"I read this excellent book with my 10-yr-old son. This Newberry Medal winner from 1966 is an excellent historical fiction exploring the life of Don Diego de Velasquez, the renowned 17th century Spanish painter, and his long-time assistant, Juan de Pareja. Trevino did an excellent job of portraying life in the Spanish court as well as shedding light on the life of an artist. My son thoroughly enjoyed the story as did I. The internet can be a wonderful thing. It allowed us to study the works of the artist while we were reading about them. It was a great exploration of both the time period as well as the art of Velasquez. Highly recommended."
“This brilliant historical novel captures and holds the attention from its rhythmic opening sentence…all the way through to the end…A splendid book, vivid, unforgettable.”
“Ward’s reading is near flawless. In clear, rich tones, she imbues the first-person story with the sense of majesty and self-possessiveness it deserves; character voices and accents are beautifully delivered.”
“The author creates a fresh and different approach to biographical fiction. The novel is also an eloquent testimonial to the bonds between races.”
“De Treviño’s masterpiece is enhanced by Ward’s glorious narration. The colorful text is presented so artistically that simply listening to all of the different voices and accents is a great pleasure.”
“The book is full of memorable scenes…Many paths of interest lead from this original, beautifully written story.”
“Ward’s rich voice and flawless Spanish pronunciations add to the quality of the story.”
" I love historical fiction and I love Velazquez. I read it as I had Velazque'z painting of Juan de Pareja and after seeing the painting at the Met in NYC. its not a deep complex book, but it is fun and touching. "
" What a great book! You know, sometimes older books that won awards are kind of dated, but this one was lovely (perhaps because it is historical fiction). I thought the story was so beautiful and the relationships real. "
" I was expecting to really not like this book. But, I didn't. I didn't love it either, it was a little word, but a nice story. "
" My rating is higher than the average, but I really loved this book. It was a Newberry Award winner in 1966 and tells the story of the extraordinary friendship between the Spanish painter Diego Velazquez and his Negro slave, Juan de Pareja. It was an endearing characterization that I especially enjoyed since I've studied Spanish art and history and recognized the names and events that were woven into the story. At only 180 pages, I was able to read the whole book in one day. Now I want to go get a book of Velazquez' art and look at all the paintings again. Great story. "
" This book, though good, so far is pretty obtuse. It is very weird, as it was written almost 40 years ago, but it is still full of adventure. Read it, but beware of some pretty out of date language within. "
" for english...boring book "
" This book was a very enjoyable historical fiction book. It was enlightening to read something of this particular time period in Spain/Italy and the author did a very sensitive portrayal of the main characters. Now I have a great respect for Juan de Pareja and Velasquez both. "
" Great book about a loving Spanish slave who learns to paint from one of the greatest painters in the world at that time. "
" Interesting read. I plan to learn more about Juan and his master, but the story was told fairly dry and it was hard to stay interested for long periods of time. "
" Interesting - learned about an artist I didn't know anything about. "
" i dont remember a lot of details about this book, but i remember that is was great. I think i might read this one again after i re-read the narnia books. "
" I loved this book. It brought to life an aspect of that time period (the 1600s) that I had never read or studied. I highly recommend to anyone who likes historical fiction. "
" Interesting story! Great book for 5th/6th graders. "
" I didn't get around to pre-reading this one, so I'm trying to stay a few pages ahead of Malcolm. "
" I read this twice: 1966, 1977. "
" Absolutely beautiful. The subject matter is incredibly interesting and very thought-provoking. It is such an inspiring story, and it was impeccably written. My very favorite recent read. "
" Read this because it was on the kids reading list - and I must say, it is one of the most appealing books I've read in quite a while. Not too long (I started and finished today), but written well, a beautiful story, and historically interesting. "
" History Year Three "
" A quick read. Can't go wrong with a Newberry award winning book! "
" This was an excellent read aloud for the family, enveloping faith, art, history and geography...we really enjoyed the culture and very well written! "
" Very wonderful book! This was part of our home school curriculum and we thoroughly enjoyed reading it together. "
" I read this as a child and then as an adult. Even better the second time. And it's sent me off to the library to read books about 17th century Spanish painting. Excellent. "
" Interesting insight into the life of an artist, an apprentice, a slave, and a friend. "
" Talk about a happy slave! "
" this book got better as it went along. it wasn't too bad. "
" The main character of this book was such a wonderful, loving person. This was quite a touching book. So glad I remembered an old friend from a long time ago recommended it as one of her all-time favorites! "
" Amazingly novel story for a children historical fiction book. So interesting, I couldn't put it down. "
" This was a fun, quick read. "
" just read it was great and i mean just read "
" A very sweet, interesting story of a the slave of a famous artist. A young readers book but with a lof of very adult themes. "
Elizabeth Borton de Treviño (1904–2000) was the highly acclaimed author of many books for young people. Born in California, it was her move to Mexico in the 1930s that inspired many of her books, including El Güero: A True Adventure Story and Leona: A Love Story. She won the Newbery Medal in 1966 for I, Juan de Pareja.
Johanna Ward (a.k.a. Kate Reading) is an Audie Award–winning narrator and has received numerous Earphones Awards from AudioFile magazine. She is also a theater actor in the Washington, DC, area and has been a member of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company since 1987. Her work onstage has been recognized by the Helen Hayes Awards Society, among others. She and her husband live in Hyattsville, Maryland, with their two children.
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