Infanta Margarita
by VELÁZQUEZ, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y, Oil on canvas, 70 x 59 cm
Maria Margarita (1651-1673) was the daughter of King Philip IV of Spain and his second wife Mariana of Austria. She was betrothed as a child to her maternal uncle and paternal cousin, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. After giving birth to six children and weakened by many miscarriages, she died at the age of twenty-one. She is a central figure in the famous Las Meninas by Diego Vel�zquez.
The painting represents the Infanta at the age of four. The inscription at the top of the painting is a later addition. The attribution to Vel�zquez is debated, the contribution of the workshop is assumed.