Module 4: I, Juan de Pareja

Treviño, E. B. (1978). I, Juan de Pareja. New York: Yearling Book.

Summary: Juan de Pareja, a slave, tells the story of his life and how he comes to work for the great Spanish painter Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez. Juan tells of his trials through life as a slave, the kindness of his master, and his desire to paint under the tutelage of his master even though it is illegal for a slave to do so. Through serving and supporting his master in Spain and in travels to Italy, Juan gains understanding of the world around him and his role in it.

Response: I found it interesting reading a piece from the perspective of a Black slave that was written during a time (1965) when perspectives in the U.S. on ethnic groups of color were still limited. I thought it to be well written and interesting as it pulled from the historical context of the life of Juan de Pareja as he may have lived it in serving Velazquez as his master. All of his emotions are appropriate- his attitudes towards kindness and viciousness are that of one who understands himself as a whole human who happens to be bound by the shackles of slavery. I especially like the introduction of Lolis, the slave that attends to the wife of Velazquez when she is aging and ill, because Juan is confronted with the realities of the lived slave experience from someone else. He is always approached with moments in his life that help him grow and understand the world around him.

Review:

In I, Juan de Pareja, Elizabeth Borton de Trevino unites two favorite strands of her previous work — her love for the Hispanic people and her interest in their artistic heritage. In 1959, she had already attempted a novel about El Greco, The Greek of Toledo, but I, Juan de Pareja describes the complex relationship between two vastly different painters. Taking as her starting point the famous Velazquez portrait of Pareja which now hangs in the Museo del Prado, the author utilizes portraits of both artists to illustrate crucial moments in their lives. There generally is no historical basis for her interpretation of the genesis of the paintings, but the weaving of historical data, authentic artistic works, and fictional narrative is ingenious and well conceived. Of special merit is the final glimpse of Philip IV, painting, with Juan’s help, the red cross of Santiago on Velazquez’s breast in his masterpiece Las Meninas.

The year of the publication of I, Juan de Pareja, 1965, was one of racial turmoil in the United States. In the afterwords, Borton de Trevino alludes to this strife and expresses the opinion that her story of two men, one black, one white, foreshadows all that can be achieved in the present.

Yet there is no moralizing tone in the novel. The author lets the situation and actions of her characters — the slave afraid to be sold, the princess refusing to be in the same room with a black man, the cruel conduct of a gypsy who is himself an outcast — speak for themselves. If there is any tendency toward sententiousness, it lies in the pronouncements of Velazquez concerning his art.

Besides its interpretation of a past relationship used to prefigure possible harmony in the present, I, Juan de Pareja is original in its treatment of a Hispanic theme. Credible books on historical Hispanic figures are rare indeed, let alone one dealing with two painters of the seventeenth century. The author wished to open children’s (and adults’) eyes to the richness of Hispanic culture. This book is well read with copies of both Velazquez’s and Pareja’s paintings in front of the reader.

Essay by: Charlene E. Suscavage

Suscavage, C. E. (1991). I, Juan de Pareja. Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Fiction Series, 1-2.

Program: Have a display with the painting of Juan de Pareja by Velazquez and ask children who come in to create a back story for the painting. Why was it painted? Who is the man in the painting? What do his clothes say about him? The expression on his face? Encourage them to read the book after creating the story to see how it compares to what they imagined. All written ideas will be posted with the picture.