I, Juan de Pareja

I, Juan de Pareja
Author(s)	Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Children's novel
Publisher	Farrar Straus Giroux
Publication date	June 1965
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	192 pp
ISBN	NA

I, Juan de Pareja is a novel by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1966.

The novel is written in the first person as by the title character, Juan de Pareja a half-African slave of the artist Diego Velázquez, and model for one of Velázquez' most noted paintings, who earns his freedom through his own merits, artistic and otherwise.

Plot

Juan de Pareja is an African-race slave born into slavery. His mother, Zulema, dies when he is five, and he does not know who his father is, so he is left orphaned. He serves his mother's master Basilio and mistress Emilia, but soon, both of them are killed by a plague. Juan is also affected by it, but he somehow survives and is brought to Madrid to his former mistress' nephew, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez, who is quite a renowned painter. However, the man who brings him there is very cruel to Juan, but when they reach Diego's house, Diego dismisses the man, Don Carmelo, because of his harsh treatment to Juan, and this is the first sign to Juan that Diego is a nice man.

Diego has a wife, Juana de Miranda, and two little girls, Francisca and Ignacia. However, Juan is not required to help his mistress and the two toddlers much. His main job is to help his master with his painting, like preparing the colours, washing the brushes, etc. However, Juan learns to paint as well, but since slaves in Spain are not allowed to practice any of the arts, his master cannot teach him how to.

Soon, two apprentices, Cristobal and Alvaro join the household to learn from Diego. Juan, whose opinions do not differ from his master and his family's, dislikes Cristobal, but finds Alvaro pleasant enough. However, Cristobal is a much better painter than Alvaro.

Some time later, Diego receives a message from the King of Spain, saying that he has been invited to paint His Majesty's portrait. Thus, he and his family are given permanent living quarters in the palace itself, so they move there, along with Juan and the two apperentices.

Slowly, the trust, friendliness between the two men the King and Diego, who are both quiet and able to relate to each other, grows to the point that the King comes in and out of the studio as he pleases, silently. Also described are the many years that he went to Italy.

Awards
Preceded by Shadow of a Bull	Newbery Medal recipient 1966	Succeeded by Up a Road Slowly