The Waterseller of Seville is the title of three paintings by Spanish artist Diego Velázquez, dating from 1618–1622. The original version is considered to be among the finest works of the painter's Seville period and is displayed in the Waterloo Gallery of Apsley House.
The painting exists in three versions. The version in the Apsley House, London, United Kingdom, was originally housed in the Royal Spanish Collection but stolen by Joseph Bonaparte at the time of the Napoleonic wars. The Duke of Wellington later won it back – along with 82 other paintings – at the Battle of Vitoria. The King of Spain allowed him to keep them in return for beating the French. Wellington brought the painting back to England where it remains to this day, in Apsley House, his former home. This version is hung in the Waterloo Gallery in the museum side of the House (the current Duke of Wellington holds several private rooms still) so can be viewed by the public.
The version in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence, painted two to four years earlier, has a rather more burlesque feel, with the seller wearing an ornate red hat. This may have been more in line with Velázquez's contemporaries' expectations due to the comical and devious image of the waterseller given in picaresque novels of the time.
The third version, takes yet another angle on the waterseller. In this he appears almost despairing in his expression, perhaps to the extent of appearing farcical. The brilliant colours used are the most extreme of the three (with the pots taking on an altogether more shiny appearance). However, as in the Uffizi version, the characters lack the depth of personality present in the Wellington version.
The subject of the painting is the waterseller, a common trade for the lower classes in Velázquez's Seville. The jars and victuals recall the bodegón paintings. The seller has two customers: a young boy, possibly painted from the same model as used for the boys in The Lunch and Old Woman Cooking Eggs, and a young man in the background shadows, (time has caused him to fade somewhat – he is clearer in the Uffizi version).
In the foreground sit the seller's gigantic pots of water, glistening with splashes of water. So large and rounded, they almost protrude out of the painting into the observer's space. The seller hands a freshly poured glass of water to the boy. In it sits a fig, a perfumer intended to make the water taste fresher (something still done in Seville today).
The still, calm scene – a typical quality of his genre scenes and, indeed, much of Velázquez's work – is remarkable for the depiction of the seller. His pensive face, battered by its direct exposure to sunlight and deeply scarred with the wrinkles of age, speaks of long years of experience. His short shaved hair and old plain clothes give him the appearance of a monk, saint, or eccentric philosopher. He gazes into nothing, indicating deep thought, almost unaware of those around him.
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