Rokeby Venus its central use of a mirror, and because it shows the body of Venus turned away from the observer of the painting. The "Rokeby Venus" is the only surviving female nude by Velázquez. Nudes were extremely rare in seventeenth-century Spanish art, which was policed actively by members of the Spanish Inquisition. Despite this, nudes by foreign artists were keenly collected by the court circle, and this painting was hung in the houses of Spanish courtiers until 1813, when it was brought to England to hang in Rokeby Park, Yorkshire. In 1906, the painting was purchased by National Art Collections Fund
David Rokeby in 2000. David Rokeby David Rokeby (born November 14, 1960 in Tillsonburg, Ontario) is an artist who has been making works of electronic, video and installation art since 1982. He lives with his wife, pianist Eve Egoyan, and daughter in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His early work "Very Nervous System" (1982–1991) is acknowledged as a pioneering work of interactive art, translating physical gestures into real-time interactive sound environments. "Very Nervous System" was presented at the Venice Biennale in 1986. Rokeby's pioneering interactive work "Very Nervous System" has been evolving since 1982. In "Wired Magazine" the work is described as "A combination