Artwork
Prince Balthasar Charles With a Dwarf
Prince Balthasar Charles With a Dwarf is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Diego Velázquez. It dates from 1631 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
About this work
Diego Velázquez painted Prince Balthasar Charles With a Dwarf in 1631. The oil portrait shows the young prince with a court dwarf. Velázquez made several portraits of this boy.
This was the first portrait Velázquez did of the prince. The prince would later rule Spain for just four years before dying young. The dwarf stands beside him in the painting.
Look up Diego Velázquez next.
Overview
Painted in 1631 by Diego Velázquez, Prince Balthasar Charles With a Dwarf is an oil portrait depicting the young Prince of Asturias alongside a court dwarf.
Subject & Meaning
The portrait features Balthasar Charles, who would later briefly rule Spain, and a dwarf who served at court, highlighting the complex social dynamics of the royal household.
History & Provenance
This work is the first of several portraits Velázquez painted of the prince and is now housed in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
Artist & collection
Artist
Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a Spanish Baroque painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age.
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