Clean-up at The Met uncovers 'real' VelazquezThe Met museum in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of discovered during a clean-up that a painting long-thought to be a cheap imitation is in fact a genuine work by the 17th century Spanish master Velazquez. The bust-length portrait of a man in his 30s, dressed in black and posed in a three-quarter view was initially thought to be a Velazquez self-portrait when it first entered the museum's collection in 1949. But 30 years later experts decided it had been knocked up in a workshop by one of his followers. "What was not realized was the degree to which unnecessarily heavy retouching and a thick, discolored dis·col·or v. dis·col·ored, dis·col·or·ing, dis·col·ors v.tr. To alter or spoil the color of; stain. v.intr. To become altered or spoiled in color. varnish obfuscated the qualities of the picture, making a proper evaluation impossible," the Met said. The "new" painting will be a welcome addition to the prestigious assets of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which boasts the best collection of works by Velazquez in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Diego Velazquez, whose influence extended to 20th century artists Francis Bacon and Pablo Picasso, was court painter A court painter is an artist who paints for the members of a royal or noble family. See category of Italian art collectors for lists that included non-aristocratic patrons. to Philip IV of Spain Philip IV (Felipe IV), (8 April, 1605 – 17 September, 1665) was King of Spain from 1621 to 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands and also King of Portugal (as Philip III) until 1640. and is known for his portraits of court life, as well as equestrian and mythological myth·o·log·i·cal also myth·o·log·ic adj. 1. Of, relating to, or recorded in myths or mythology. 2. Fabulous; imaginary. myth themes. Works by the Spanish master, who was born in Seville in 1599, rarely come on the market. His "Santa Rufina", a painting of one of Seville's patron saints, fetched a record for the artist of 17.02 million dollars when it came up at auction at Sotheby's in London in 2007. 
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