St Ildefonso Receiving the Chasuble from the Virgin

Vel�zquez took up ideas from earlier models that struck him as important and worth studying. In religious compositions such as the painting St Ildefonso Receiving the Chasuble from the Virgin, the spiritual ascetics portrayed by El Greco may well have been such models. With remarkable self-confidence, however, Vel�zquez always transformed the ideas he adopted into his own inimitable style. Its increasing artistic delicacy, his sure touch in exploring the depths of his subject, and a fine sense of composition show the presence of genius beneath the surface of the young artist still learning his craft.