Rokeby Venus been cited as sources of inspiration for Velázquez. The nude Venuses of the Italian painters, such as Giorgione's "Sleeping Venus" (c. 1510) and Titian's "Venus of Urbino" (1538), were the main precedents. In this work, Velázquez combined two established poses for Venus: recumbent on a couch or a bed, and gazing at a mirror. She is often described as looking at herself on the mirror, although this is physically impossible since viewers can see her face reflected in their direction. This phenomenon is known as the Venus effect. In a number of ways the painting represents a pictorial departure, through
Thomas de Rokeby the siege of Rouen in 1418–1419 and marched through Paris in triumph in 1420. He was MP again for Yorkshire in 1423. He married a daughter of Sir Ralph Eure. Thomas de Rokeby Sir Thomas de Rokeby was a 15th-century English soldier, Knight of the Shire and High Sheriff of Yorkshire. He was born into a well-known north Yorkshire family with a seat at Mortham on the banks of the Tees. An earlier Thomas de Rokeby who died in 1356 had been Lord Lieutenant of Ireland; he was probably a brother of the younger Thomas' great-grandfather. In 1405 he served