The original version is considered to be among the finest works of the painter's Seville period and is displayed in the Wellington Collection of Apsley House.

The old man is handing the young boy a glass of water, but they never look at each other, nor do they make eye contact with the viewer.

In it sits a fig, a perfumer intended to make the water taste fresher (something still done in Seville today).

His pensive face, battered by its direct exposure to sunlight and deeply scarred with the wrinkles of age, speaks of long years of experience.

His short shaved hair and old plain clothes give him the appearance of a monk, saint, or eccentric philosopher.

[5] Velázquez's respect for the poor is evidence in the idea that the simple, elemental nature of poverty is profound and effective in depicting higher subjects and morals such as biblical stories (such as the Christ in the House of Martha and Mary).This simply means that even the slightest gestures are ones that are painted as if they were sacred acts.

Caravaggio went against the idealistic trends of Mannerism and the Renaissance, painting saints and divine beings as fallible cripples and prostitutes.

He captures the imperfections of the seller's pots, the dampness on their sides, the glistening of the light on the small drops of water and the glass, and the realistic expressions of the characters.

[3] Antonio Palomino, Velázquez's contemporary, was the first author ever to mention the painting and he claimed that the old man looked worse than he really did.

Wellington brought the painting back to England where it remains to this day, in Apsley House, his former home.

This version is hung in the Waterloo Gallery in the museum side of the House (the current Duke of Wellington holds several private rooms still) so can be viewed by the public.

[5] The version in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence has a rather more burlesque feel, with the seller wearing an ornate red hat.

This may have been more in line with Velázquez's contemporaries' expectations due to the comical and devious image of the waterseller given in picaresque novels of the time.