This paper examines Diego Velázquez's portraits of Margarita Teresa and Baltasar Carlos to achieve an understanding of the children¹s political and gendered identities.
creator
Fitzgerald, Xena
Title
Born to Reign: Velázquez's Gendered Portraits of the Spanish Infantes
advisor
Lyon, J. Vanessa
Index Date
2014
Date Created
2014-12-18
Publisher
Grinnell College
Type of Resource
text
Genre
research paper
Digital Origin
reformated digital
Digital Extent
14 pages
Media Type
application/pdf
description
This paper examines Diego Velázquez's portraits of Margarita Teresa and Baltasar Carlos to achieve an understanding of the children¹s political and gendered identities. I first turned to primary documents to understand Velázquez¹s general role at court. I then examined secondary literature to investigate the distinctive qualities of and perspectives on childhood in seventeenth century Spanish court and how they developed with the age of the child. During the reign of King Philip IV, Spanish imperial portraiture glorified the royal children as promises for the future success of the empire. I closely examined two portraits of each child, focusing on their clothing, posture, accompanying props, and setting. Although Velázquez subtly represents the gender and power differences between the two children from their first portraits at age two, he polarizes these distinctions as they age, representing Baltasar Carlos as increasingly active and masculine and representing Margarita Teresa as increasingly feminine and ready for marriage by the age of five.
Language
English
Topic
Art critism
Topic
Gender identity in art
Topic
Velázquez, Diego, 1599-1660
Topic
Portrait painting
Topic
Kings and rulers
Topic
Children
Geographic
Spain
Temporal
17th century
Identifier (local)
grinnell:11383
Access Condition
Copyright to this work is held by the author(s), in accordance with United States copyright law (USC 17). Readers of this work have certain rights as defined by the law, including but not limited to fair use (17 USC 107 et seq.).
