I, Juan de Pareja (urspr publ 1965; utgåvan 1965)

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Juan tells the story of being a slave to the artist Diego Velázquez and of developing his own artistic talent. The reader gets to see into the life of the famous painter but also into the life of a slave in 17th century Spain. ( )

Newbery Medal. Gripping biography of de Pareja, slave to Velazquez, who learned from his master and became famous himself. ( )

The slave Juan de Pareja was the subject of a 1650 painting (below) by his master, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (who later freed him and made him his assistant). This book is based on their lives - which have little documentation. This makes them great subjects for historical fiction.

Elizabeth Borton de Treviño studied Spanish and writing at Stanford, and later lived in Mexico. In her afterword, she alludes to the racial tension of the 1960s and states that she hopes it will appeal "to young people of both white and Negro races because the story...foreshadows, in the lifetime of the two men, what we hope to achieve a millionfold today. Those two, who began in youth as master and slave, continued as companions in their maturity and ended as equals and friends." I have to wonder if this statement contributed to the book receiving the 1966 Newbery Medal. ( )

Hard to think of this as a children's book. The central character is adult through most of the book. His childhood is only mentioned in the first few chapters. It is an interesting look at being an artist and at a period of time in Spain. I appreciated the religious feelings that pervaded the story. Well researched and an interesting story. I found it was a great way to fall asleep in the evening. Not my favorite of the books that Vintage Book Circle has read, though the rest of the group liked it a lot. ( )