Juan de Pareja was a Spaniard born into slavery in Southern Spain, probably in
Antequera in
Malaga province around 1610. Little is known on his background although
Antonio Palomino describes him as being "of mixed parentage and unusual color." The first known reference to Juan de Pareja as a painter is in a letter addressed to Pedro Galindo, attorney of the city of
Seville, written on 12 May 1630, in which Juan de Pareja requests permission to move to
Madrid in order to continue his studies together with his brother Jusepe. The authenticity of this document is questioned since within it he claims to be a free man and does not once mention Velázquez. It is unknown at what time he began serving
Diego Velázquez. In 1642 he signed as a witness in a power of attorney for Velázquez in a lawsuit against scribes in the criminal court. He was also a witness in October and December 1647, for two other powers of attorney to manage his assets in Seville granted by Velázquez and his wife Juana Pacheco. He would again sign a similar document in 1653 for Francisca Velázquez, daughter of the painter. In 1649 he accompanied Velázquez on his second trip to
Italy. This is where Velázquez painted his famous painting
Portrait of Juan de Pareja, currently in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York. The painting was exhibited in the Pantheon of Rome in March 1650 during the festivities in honor of the Patron of the Virtuosos of the Pantheon, which Velázquez had recently joined. On 23 November, while still in
Rome, Velázquez granted him a letter of freedom, which would come into effect after four years on the condition that he did not escape or commit any criminal act in that period. The document of his
manumission, discovered by
Jennifer Montagu, is held in the Archivio di Stato in Rome. From then on until his death in
Madrid he worked as an independent painter, demonstrating knowledge acquired in Velazquez's workshop, where he likely had wider responsibilities than Palomino suggests, as well as his knowledge of various other Spanish and Italian painters. ==In fiction==