Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, 1st Duke of Sanlúcar, 3rd Count of Olivares,, known as the Count-Duke of Olivares, was a Spanish royal favourite of Philip IV and minister. Appointed as Grandee on 10 April 1621, a day after the ending of the Twelve Years' Truce to January 1643, he over-exerted Spain in foreign affairs and unsuccessfully attempted domestic reform. His policy of committing Spain to recapture Holland led to a renewal of the Eighty Years' War while Spain was also embroiled in the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). In addition, his attempts to centralise power and increase wartime taxation led to revolts in Catalonia and in Portugal, which brought about his downfall.
A relatively youthful Olivares in 1624, three years into his time in power, dressed in robes of the Order of Calatrava by Diego Velázquez
The re-taking of Breda, an early Spanish success in the Eighty Years' War that would ultimately result in Olivares' fall from power, by Diego Velázquez.
The Battle of Montjuïc (1641), by Pandolfo Reschi, a Spanish failure during the Catalan Revolt which would help seal Olivares' fate as prime minister.
Diego Velázquez
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Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Knight of the Order of Santiago was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age.
Birthplace of Velázquez in Seville
Vieja friendo huevos (1618, English: Old Woman Frying Eggs). National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Philip IV in Brown and Silver, 1632