Maria of Austria (Velazquez)

The portrait of María de Austria, Reina de Hungría was painted by Velázquez in 1630 and is kept in the Prado Museum.

History of the painting

María de Austria (1606 to 1646) was the daughter of King Philip III of Spain and his wife Margaret of Austria, sister of the next king, Philip IV of Spain. During the latter's reign, in 1631, Maria married Ferdinand III of Habsburg, who was King of Hungary and Bohemia and who would later be Emperor of Germany.

This is a very successful work in which the author perfectly captures the psychology of the future empress. As he had been doing in previous portraits, Velázquez paints on a neutral background to highlight the figure. Everything is treated with great quality: the greenish suit, the gray lechuguilla (clothing) and above all the hair, made with great care and meticulous detail.

In 1630 the painter Diego Velázquez was traveling through Italy. Back in Spain, he spent the last three months of that year in the Italian city of Naples and it was during that stay that he made the portrait of María Ana de Austria, still an infant, since her marriage to Fernando had not yet taken place. III. The purpose of making this portrait was to bring it with him to Spain and give it to Felipe IV as a memory of his sister, whom he would never see again. Since the time of Emperor Carlos I, there was the custom of painting portraits of relatives between the kings and their relatives, in most cases as a presentation of the character to other personalities, on the occasion of future weddings or simply as a family memory.

This work is currently in the Museo del Prado in Madrid.