Waterseller of Seville (c1620). Oil on canvas. 107 x 81. 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 original version was painted by Velázquez when he was in his late teens or early twenties. Looking at this painting, there is an older man, a young boy, and a bystander in the background. The old man is handing the young boy a glass of water but, they never look at each other, nor do they make eye contact with the viewer. According to José Guidol, the Waterseller of Seville by Velázquez was painted shortly before moving to Madrid. Guidol also classified this painting as a bodegón, due to the depiction of beverages. Art historians typically compare this painting to the still lifes that were painted during the seventeenth century in Spain because this painting is very simple with a limited color range and Velázquez was working with still objects. This painting is done in a realistic style with a limited color palette, another characteristic of the bodegón genre. According to Jon Moffitt, this piece was not a commissioned work. The subject of the painting is the waterseller, a common trade for the lower classes in Velázquez's Seville. The jars and victuals recall 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. 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. It is not known for sure, but it is assumed that the painting is being taken place either within a tavern or near one. The lighting enters the scene from the left and is brings attention to the young boy and to the water droplets on the pot of water. This demonstrates the detailed work of Velázquez's paintings. 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. The old man doesn't look at the young boy or even the other man in the shadows and he doesn't make eye contact with the audience either. The young boy is the same. He doesn't make eye contact with the old man, and his back is turned to the other man. And the young boy doesn't make eye contact with the audience. According to Antonio Palomino, the old man in the painting was old and very ill. He had torn clothing that revealed some skin and on that skin, there were warts. Beside the old man is young boy. The old man gives the young boy a glass of water and the young boy takes it without any form of acknowledgement.