San Juan | Juan Carlos I of Spain | Don Juan | Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico | Juan Gabriel | Juan Perón | Juan Pablo Montoya | Strait of Juan de Fuca | Juan Ramón Jiménez | Juan Luna | San Juan, Metro Manila | San Juan Islands | San Juan, Argentina | San Juan del Sur | Juan Manuel Santos | Juan Gris | Juan | Old San Juan | Juan Mónaco | Juan Luis Guerra | Juan de Padilla | San Juan de la Maguana | Juan Martín del Potro | Juan López de Padilla | Colegio de San Juan de Letran | San Juan Pueblo | San Juan Capistrano, California | Juan Ponce de León | Juan Muñoz | Juan Manuel de Rosas |
The novel is written in the first person as by the title character, Juan de Pareja, a half-African slave of the artist Diego Velázquez, and model for one of Velázquez's most noted paintings, who earns his freedom through his own merits, artistic and otherwise.
He is primarily known as a member of the household and workshop of painter Diego Velázquez.