Who recommended to Phillip IV that he buy Roman statuary?

• A. Bernard Berenson
• B. Alfred Barr
• C. Diego Valezquez
• D. Banks

Answer: (C)

A painter serving as an adviser to a monarch illustrates how taste and trusted relationships can steer a royal collection. Diego Velázquez, as the king’s leading court painter and confidant, wielded influence beyond creating canvases. He used his close access to Philip IV to shape collecting priorities, including recommending the purchase of Roman statuary. This shows how artists could help royalty define the cultural and political prestige of the state by acquiring antiquities that communicated power, refinement, and classical legitimacy. The other names listed come from different periods or roles and aren’t linked to Philip IV’s collecting decisions, so they don’t fit the historical context of this patron-advisor dynamic.