I, Juan de Pareja

I, Juan de Pareja Summary | Plot Summary

I, Juan de Pareja is the story of a slave of African ancestry in Spain during the first half of the seventeenth century. Juan de Pareja is born to a slave, a black seamstress. At the age of five, he becomes a pageboy to a wealthy Madrid woman when his mother dies. His mistress is kind and teaches him to read and write. After his owner's death from plague, the kindly monk Brother Isidro cares for Juan. Bequeathed to the famous painter Diego Velbzquez, Juan is taken to Madrid by a cruel gypsy named Carmelo, who beats the boy and starves him. In Madrid, Juan becomes a valued part of the Velbzquez household. He begins to paint secretly, knowing that it is illegal for slaves to practice any of the arts. Juan's painting leads to his estrangement from the Roman Catholic Church. Ultimately, he is reconciled to the Church and granted his freedom, thanks to the kindness of his owner, the famous Baroque painter Diego Velbzquez.

As the novel begins, Juan's mother dies of a mysterious illness when he is just five years old. He must work as a pageboy for Dosa Emilia. The impulsive but kind woman teaches him to read and write. The entire household is stricken with the plague. Juan awakes weak from a fever to find that he and the little dog Toto are the only ones left in the house. All of the servants have fled, fearing contamination. A generous monk, Brother Isidro, nurses Juan back to health. Just nine years old when Dosa Emilia dies, Juan is inherited by her nephew in Madrid, the painter Diego Velbzquez.

A cruel gypsy muleteer named Carmelo is hired to transport the household belongings, including Juan, to Velbzquez in Madrid. The muleteer refuses to feed Juan, urging the boy to steal instead. Starving, Juan learns to pilfer and to beg for alms on the church steps. He finally manages to run away from the muleteer and find temporary employment with a baker. When the muleteer recaptures Juan, he beats the boy viciously.

Arriving in Madrid, Juan is grateful to discover that his new master is kind. He is soon accepted into the Velbzquez household, which includes two tiny girls, nicknamed Paquita and La Nisa. Don Diego sets Juan to work in the studio, mixing paints and stretching canvas. Juan is mesmerized by art, and he quietly learns all that Don Diego is teaching his many apprentices. Slaves are forbidden to practice the arts, but Juan begins to paint in secret.

Juan's guilt and duplicity produce a rift with the Church. One of the apprentices, Murillo, convinces Juan that it is no sin to be a slave. Juan confesses his lies and thefts of paint, and he returns to the Church, a major source of solace in his life. With Velbzquez, Juan travels to Italy twice, observing the work of many famous painters of the Baroque period.

Returning home, the king discovers that Juan has been painting, in defiance of the law. The king is fond of Juan but cannot avoid punishing him for breaking the law. Don Diego steps in and frees Juan from slavery before the king can pass judgment. Juan also wins freedom for Lolis, the household cook, and he marries her. After the tragic deaths of Paquita, her mother and Velbzquez, Juan returns to Madrid to live with friends and paint.

Elizabeth Borton de Treviso's novel is loosely based on the lives of Diego Velbzquez, the premier Spanish Baroque painter, and his slave, the painter Juan de Pareja. Actual events incorporated into the novel include the king's discovery of Juan's painting and the subsequent manumission. De Treviso has skillfully crafted a narrative using the little available information about these two men. She earned the Newberry Award in 1966 for this story of kindness, loyalty and the nature of art.