Rokeby Venus of her body. The composition mainly uses shades of red, white, and grey, which are used even in Venus's skin; although the effect of this simple colour scheme has been much praised, recent technical analysis has shown that the grey sheet was originally a "deep mauve", that has now faded. The luminescent colours used in Venus's skin, applied with "smooth, creamy, blended handling", contrast with the dark greys and black of the silk she is lying on, and with the brown of the wall behind her face. The "Rokeby Venus" is the only surviving nude by Velázquez, but three others
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