This is a portrait of Diego Velázquez, from his arrival at the court of King Philip IV of Spain to his death 38 years and numerous paintings later. It depicts a relationship that is not quite a friendship, between an artist and his subject. It portrays a ruler, always on duty, and increasingly burdened by a life of public expectation and repeated private grief. It also illustrates a court collapsing under the weight of its own excess. Unfolding through a series of masterly set pieces and glancing sketches, this is a novel of brilliance, imagination, and sheer style—about what is shown and what is seen, about art and life.