Rokeby Venus Venus looking into a mirror, and as both had had close ties to the Spanish court, their examples would have been familiar to Velázquez. However, "this girl with her small waist and jutting hip, does not resemble the fuller more rounded Italian nudes inspired by ancient sculpture". One innovation of the "Rokeby Venus", when compared to other large single nude paintings, lies in the fact that Velázquez depicts a back view of its subject who is turned away from the viewer. There were precedents for this in prints by Giulio Campagnola, Agostino Veneziano, Hans Sebald Beham and Theodor de Bry,
Thomas de Rokeby (died 1356) "one who paid well for his victuals, and did not rob the poor" (i.e. he did not abuse the much criticized system of purveyance). The citizens of Cork, protesting at his recall, referred to his "evident good work" in maintaining law and order. Otway-Ruthven contrasts his early successes with his disappointing later record and notes that the 1350s were later seen as the crucial decade in which the English Crown lost control of much of Ireland until the sixteenth century. Thomas de Rokeby (died 1356) Sir Thomas de Rokeby (died 1356 or 1357) was a soldier and senior Crown official