At the beginning of Disgraced, Emily is sketching a portrait of Amir in the style of Spanish painter Diego Velázquez's Portrait of Juan de Pareja. The painting is considered a landmark in the history of Western portraiture.
Juan de Pareja, an enslaved man of African descent who served as Velázquez's assistant in his artist's workshop, posed for the painting so that Velázquez could practice before he painted a portrait of Pope Innocent X. Velázquez depicts Pareja in a proud pose in what is thought to be the earliest known portrait of an African-descended Spanish man.
The painting was exhibited at the Pantheon in Rome in March of 1650 and received widespread acclaim. Four years later, Velázquez arranged for Pareja to be freed, and Pareja became an independent artist.
In 1970, the Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired the painting. The sale marked the first time a painting had sold for more than £1,000,000.
