Mazo was Velázquez’s assistant and son-in-law, having married his daughter Francisca in 1633, and he mimicked many of the elder artist’s techniques and formats. María Teresa, daughter of King Philip IV of Spain and future queen of France, is shown at around seven years old. The painting can be precisely dated by the dress of “plain black velvet embroidered with silver squares,” made in January 1646 by court tailor Mateo Aguado as a gift from the girl’s former governess, the Countess of Olivares. The putti faintly visible through the red curtain at upper right reveal that Mazo reused a canvas once painted with an entirely different composition, a common practice in even the highest-level workshops.
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Fig. 1. Painting in frame: overall
Fig. 2. Painting in frame: corner
Fig. 3. Painting in frame: angled corner
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Fig. 4. Profile drawing of frame. W 6 7/8 in. 17.4 cm (T. Newbery)
Artwork Details
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Title:María Teresa (1638–1683), Infanta of Spain
Artist:Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo (Spanish, Cuenca ca. 1612–1667 Madrid)
Date:1646
Medium:Oil on canvas
Dimensions:58 1/4 x 40 1/2 in. (148 x 102.9 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1943
Object Number:43.101
chevalier Féréol Bonnemaison, Paris (until d. 1827; his estate sale, Henry, Paris, April 17–21, 1827, no. 44, as "Portrait d'une jeune fille," by Velázquez, for Fr 1,500); Charles-Auguste-Louis-Joseph, duc de Morny, Paris (by 1863–d. 1865; his estate sale, Palais de la Présidence du Corps Législatif, Paris, June 8, 1865, no. 127, as "Portrait d'une Infante," by Velázquez, for Fr 51,000); Mrs. Lyne Stephens, Lynford Hall, Norfolk (by 1874–d. 1895; her estate sale, Christie's, London, May 9–13, 1895, no. 321, as "A Young Lady called an Infanta," by Velázquez, for £4,515 to Agnew); [Thomas Agnew & Sons, London, from 1895]; J. Pierpont Morgan, London and New York (by 1896–d. 1913; his estate, 1913–17); his son, J. P. Morgan, New York (1917–d. 1943; his estate, 1943; as by Mazo, sold through Knoedler to The Met)
Paris. Palais de la Présidence du Corps Législatif. "Ouvrages de peinture exposés au profit de la colonisation de l'Algérie par les Alsaciens-Lorrains," April 23–?, 1874, no. 505 (as by Velázquez, lent by Mme Lyne Stephens).
London. Royal Academy of Arts. "Winter Exhibition," January 6–March 14, 1896, no. 117 (as "Portrait of an Infanta," by Velázquez, lent by J. Pierpont Morgan).
Art Gallery of the Corporation of London. "Spanish Painters," April 30–August 28, 1901, no. 131 (as "Portrait of the Infanta Maria Theresa," by Velázquez, lent by J. Pierpont Morgan).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Loan Exhibition of the J. Pierpont Morgan Collection," February 17, 1914–May 28, 1916, unnumbered cat. (p. 101, as by Velázquez).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Spanish Paintings from El Greco to Goya," February 17–April 1, 1928, no. 59 (as by Velázquez, lent by J. Pierpont Morgan).
New York. M. Knoedler & Co. "Collection of J. P. Morgan: Exhibition of Paintings for the Benefit of the Citizens Committee for the Army and Navy, Inc.," November 23–December 11, 1943, no. 21 (as by Mazo).
Little Rock. Arkansas Arts Center. "Five Centuries of European Painting," May 16–October 26, 1963, unnumbered cat. (p. 21, as by Mazo).
Huntington, N.Y. Heckscher Museum. "Goya to Vicente: Tradition and Response," September 8–December 16, 2001, no catalogue.
Paris. Musée d'Orsay. "Manet/Velázquez: La manière espagnole au XIXe siècle," September 16, 2002–January 12, 2003, no. 25.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Manet/Velázquez: The French Taste for Spanish Painting," March 4–June 29, 2003, no. 47.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Velázquez Rediscovered," November 17, 2009–February 7, 2010, no catalogue.
Paris. Grand Palais, Galeries nationales. "Velázquez," March 25–July 13, 2015, no. 90.
Catalogue de tableaux précieux des diverses écoles . . . formant le cabinet de feu M. le Ch. Féréol Bonnemaison... Henry, Paris. April 17–21, 1827, pp. 35–36, no. 44, as "Portrait d'une jeune fille," by Velázquez; describes a manuscript note found on the reverse of the painting prior to its relining which describes the princess and apparently identifies her as María Teresa of Austria.
Léon Lagrange. "La galerie de M. le duc de Morny." Gazette des beaux-arts 14 (April 1863), pp. 387–88, ill. opp. p. 388 (engraving by Sotain, in reverse), attributes it to Velázquez and mentions two other Velázquez portraits of María Teresa (collections Frank Hall Standish [present location unknown] and Louis Viardot [now Louvre, Paris]); observes that in this portrait, the artist "has reproduced the life, life in both the material and the moral sense, the child's brilliant coloring, the innate aristocracy of the royal baby".
Paul Mantz. "Exposition en faveur des Alsaciens-Lorrains." Gazette des beaux-arts, 2nd ser., 10 (October 1874), pp. 297–98, attributes it to Velázquez; praises the execution of the dress as surpassing the paintings of Rubens and Van Dyck.
Charles B. Curtis. Velazquez and Murillo. London, 1883, pp. 104–5, no. 268, as "A Young Lady, called an 'Infanta'," by Velázquez.
Carl Justi. Diego Velázquez and His Times. London, 1889, pp. 404–5, ill. p. 402 (engraving), calls it a "genuine Maria Theresa," attributes it to Velázquez, and describes it as "in the style of the fifth decade"; comments on the sitter's "impressive and intelligent features".
Walter Armstrong. The Life of Velazquez. London, 1896, p. 86, calls it possibly one of the many portraits of María Teresa painted in Velázquez's studio for the French court.
R. A. M. Stevenson. Velasquez. London, 1906, p. 138, as "An Infanta," by Velázquez, in the collection of J. Pierpont Morgan.
W. Roberts. Pictures in the Collection of J. Pierpont Morgan at Princes Gate & Dover House, London. Vol. 2, Dutch & Flemish, French, Italian, Spanish. London, 1907, unpaginated, attributes it to Velázquez and identifies the sitter as definitely María Teresa; observes a similarity with the face in her portrait by Velázquez at the Prado, Madrid [probably Mazo's portrait of the Infanta Margarita, Prado no. 1191].
A. de Beruete y Moret. The School of Madrid. London, 1909, p. 92, calls it "undoubtedly, another original by Mazo," formerly attributed to Velázquez.
August L. Mayer. Geschichte der spanischen Malerei. Leipzig, 1913, vol. 2, p. 185 [2nd ed., 1922, p. 426, fig. 306], considers it a late work by Mazo.
B[ryson]. B[urroughs]. "A Loan Exhibition of Mr. Morgan's Paintings." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 8 (January 1913), p. 6, ill. p. 11, attributes it to Velázquez and dates it early 1650s "judging from the apparent age of the sitter, as she seems scarcely ten years old".
August L. Mayer. Kleine Velazquez-Studien. Munich, 1913, p. 47, dates it in the 1640s, noting that the Infanta must be at least 5 years old.
Walter Gensel. Velazquez: Des Meisters Gemälde. Ed. Valerian von Loga. 3rd ed. Stuttgart, 1914, ill. p. 149, dates it about 1645.
August L. Mayer. "An Infanta Portrait of Velázquez." Art in America 2 (April 1914), p. 249, as by Mazo, though attributed to Velázquez.
Walter W.S. Cook. "Spanish and French Paintings in the Lehman Collection." Art Bulletin 7 (December 1924), pp. 55–56, fig. 8, calls it the earliest extant portrait of María Teresa and dates it about 1645; considers it possibly a copy of a lost original by Velázquez and comments that "the color, the touch, and the whole technique betray the hand of Mazo".
August L. Mayer. Diego Velazquez. Berlin, 1924, p. 154, as by Mazo, possibly copied from an original by Velázquez from the 1640s.
Walter Gensel. Velazquez: Des Meisters Gemälde. Ed. Juan Allende-Salazar. Stuttgart, [1925], p. 287, ill. p. 239, as by Mazo, dated about 1645.
Bryson Burroughs. "Spanish Paintings from El Greco to Goya." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 23 (February 1928), p. 42, notes that some authorities attribute this painting to Mazo.
"From El Greco to Goya." American Magazine of Art 19 (April 1928), p. 182.
August L. Mayer. Velazquez: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Pictures and Drawings. London, 1936, p. 121, no. 513, pl. 109, attributes it to Mazo, derived from a lost original by Velázquez.
Élie Faure. Velazquez: Gesamtwiedergabe seiner Gemälde. London, 1939, p. 240, no. 85, pl. 82, as by Velázquez, dated about 1645.
Collection of J. P. Morgan. Exh. cat., M. Knoedler & Co. New York, 1943, p. 34, no. 21, pl. 3, notes that while this picture has been attributed to Velázquez, it is now ascribed to Mazo; dates it about 1645.
M[argaretta]. S[alinger]. "Notes." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 2 (April 1944), opp. p. 225, ill., and cover (color detail), as by Mazo.
Josephine L. Allen and Elizabeth E. Gardner. A Concise Catalogue of the European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1954, p. 66.
Bernardino de Pantorba. La vida y la obra de Velázquez: Estudio biográfico y crítico. Madrid, 1955, pp. 188–89 under no. 107, remarks that if it is a copy of a lost original by Velázquez, then the original was the first portrait of María Teresa by the master; mistakenly cites this picture as the one in the 1825 sale at the Galerie Lapeyrière.
A. Hyatt Mayor. "Children Are What We Make Them." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 15 (March 1957), ill. p. 184, as by Mazo, painted about 1657.
Juan Antonio Gaya Nuño. La pintura española fuera de España. Madrid, 1958, p. 229, no. 1715, as by Mazo, from about 1645.
Martin Soria in George Kubler and Martin Soria. Art and Architecture in Spain and Portugal and their American Dominions, 1500 to 1800. Baltimore, 1959, p. 388 n. 10, lists it among works by Mazo.
Theodore Rousseau. Letter to Millard F. Rogers, Jr. May 14, 1962, doubts the attribution to Mazo and notes "the curtain seems to have been painted over the figures of several babies quite foreign to the artist's style, as we know it".
José López-Rey. Velázquez: A Catalogue Raisonné of His Oeuvre. London, 1963, p. 252, no. 393, pl. 418, calls it "The Infanta María Teresa (?)" and says it is "obviously not by Velázquez. Perhaps, but not surely, by Mazo".
Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 161, ill.
Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez. Letter to Dulce Roman. April 27, 1997, based on a photograph, believes it may be a portrait by Mazo after an original by Velázquez, since the dog is similar to that in Velázquez's portrait of the Infante Felipe Próspero (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna); notes that if the sitter is María Teresa, the portrait must date to about 1645–48 when she was 6–10 years old.
Jean Strouse. "J. Pierpont Morgan, Financier and Collector." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 57 (Winter 2000), fig. 37 (installation view), dates it 1644–45.
Deborah L. Roldán in Gary Tinterow and Geneviève Lacambre. Manet/Velázquez: The French Taste for Spanish Painting. Exh. cat., Musée d'Orsay, Paris. New York, 2003, pp. 55, 430–31, no. 47, ill. p. 430 and fig. 1.56 (color) [French ed., "Manet/Velázquez: La manière espagnole au XIXe siècle," Paris, 2002, pp. 344–45, no. 25, fig. 30 (color)], dates it 1644–45; comments that throughout the 19th century, this picture was highly esteemed as a work by Velázquez.
Esmée Quodbach. "'Rembrandt's "Gilder" is here': How America Got its First Rembrandt and France Lost Many of its Old Masters." Simiolus 31, no. 1/2 (2004), p. 97, notes that this picture brought the highest price among Spanish and Italian paintings in the de Morny sale of 1865.
Guillaume Kientz inVelázquez: l'Expo. Exh. cat., Grand Palais, Galeries nationales. Paris, 2015, pp. 216–17, no. 90, ill. (color).
Javier Portús. "El mejor Velázquez / The Best Velázquez." Ars Magazine 12 (April–June 2019), pp. 61, 152.
Amalia Descalzo Lorenzo inThreads of Power: Lace from the Textilmuseum St. Gallen. Ed. Emma Cormack and Michele Majer. Exh. cat., Bard Graduate Center Gallery. New York, 2022, pp. 124–5, fig. 5.11 (color), cites the portrait as an example of a sitter wearing an elaborate "valona" collar around their shoulders.
Amanda Wunder. Spanish Fashion in the Age of Velázquez: A Tailor at the Court of Philip IV. New Haven, 2024, pp. 123, 125, figs. 114–15, ill. p. 216 (color, overall and details), notes that the sitter is wearing a dress made in January 1646 by the queen's tailor, Mateo Aguado, of "plain black velvet embroidered with silver squares," given to the infanta by her former governess, Inés de Zúniga y Velasco, Countess of Olivares.
The frame is from Spain and dates to about 1620–30 (see figs. 1–4 above). This carved painted and giltwood cassetta frame is made of pine and secured with mortise and tenon joints at its corners. A small cavetto at the sight edge rises to triple pearl and reel ornament. The black painted frieze is adorned with gilded carved volutes at the corners emerging from a clasped fleur-de-lis, a royal symbol used primarily in both France and Florence. The top edge is carved in straight knulls and leaf corners which fall to a black painted back edge. This frame is based on Florentine black and gold cassetta frames from 1520 and Roman cassetta frames from 1600–10. Drawn from the collection’s inventory, the frame retains early water gilding but was repainted when it was enlarged in both dimensions for this painting in 2013.
Timothy Newbery with Cynthia Moyer 2016; further information on this frame can be found in the Department of European Paintings files
María Teresa was the only child of Philip IV of Spain (1605–1665) and his first wife, Isabel de Borbón (1602–1644), to reach maturity. In 1660 she renounced her rights to the Spanish throne and married her cousin Louis XIV of France (1638–1715). This is the only known portrait of the Infanta at such a young age. Attributed to Velázquez throughout the nineteenth century, this painting was first assigned to Mazo in 1909 by Beruete y Moret, with some scholars noting it may be copied from a lost Velázquez original (see Cook 1924 and Mayer 1924). An engraving, in reverse, by Sotain is reproduced in Lagrange 1863 and another engraving is illustrated in Justi 1889.
Velázquez (Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez) (Spanish, Seville 1599–1660 Madrid)
ca. 1635
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