VELAZQEZ DIEGO RODRIGUEZ DE SILVA – Infanta Maria Margarita, daughter of King Philip IV, King of Spain Louvre (Paris)

Description of the painting Portrait of the Infanta Margarita, Daughter of Philip IV by Diego Velázquez

The work by the legendary seventeenth-century Spanish artist Diego Velázquez, which was painted in 1655, occupies a key place in his oeuvre and belongs to the portrait genre, which was particularly popular in the European art world during Velázquez’s time. As court painter to the king of Spain, Velázquez himself often depicted members of the royal family in his paintings, emphasizing the greatness of the ruling Spanish dynasty.

The painting of the Infanta Margarita, who was the daughter of King Philip IV of Spain and who later became the empress of the Holy Roman Empire, belongs to the mature period of the master’s work. It was during this period that Velázquez created a whole gallery of portraits of the Infanta.

In this picture, the future ruler has a cold restrained look, which must have been present in the representatives of the nobility of her level, while emphasized are also her eyes, despite the fact that she is only four years old, and the infanta posture, which also strongly suggests that we are the representative of the royal family.

In spite of all the statism of the infanta’s figure, masterfully portrayed by Velázquez, the manner in which the image of the little girl, who is to become a great ruler in the future, is conveyed is still striking. The soft facial features and swollen lips, together with the golden hair of the girl, give her a picture of tenderness and warmth, despite the severity of her very appearance. The artist himself was not yet aware that the Infanta was not destined to such a good fate, because she became empress of the Holy Roman Empire only 14 years old and managed to live only 21 years, but still managed to give birth to six heirs to the throne.

At the moment, the painting is on display in the Louvre Museum, one of the most famous museums in Europe.