Portrait of the Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain

The infanta Maria Theresa of Spain or
The infanta Maria Theresa aged 14
Artist Diego Velázquez
Year 1652–1653
Medium Oil on canvas
Dimensions 127 cm × 98.5 cm (50 in × 38.8 in)
Location Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

The infanta Maria Theresa of Spain or The infanta Maria Theresa aged 14 is a 1653 portrait by Diego Velázquez of Maria Theresa of Spain. It has been cut down at the top and bottom and is now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

It is considered one of the artist's best late portraits, showing its subject in a majestic pose, illuminated in a light dress against a dark background. Its seriousness and formality is added to by the two watches she carries, whilst the handkerchief in her left hand is one of the painting's highlights.

Velasquez and his assistants created three paintings to be sent to potential husbands for the Infanta (who eventually married Louis XIV). Two other versions are on display in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Louvre.

Bibliography

  • Museo del Prado. Pintura española de los siglos XVI y XVII. Enrique Lafuente Ferrari. Aguilar S.A. 1964
  • Velázquez , exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on this portrait (see index)
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