Portrait of Carlota Joaquina of Spain (1775-1830)

Carlota Joaquina of Spain (1775–1830) was a Spanish Bourbon princess who married the Prince of Brazil in 1785, eventually becoming Queen of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Mengs's portrait of 1775 — when Carlota was only an infant — would necessarily be a very early childhood portrait rather than a formal dynastic statement, placing it within the tradition of recording royal children for dynastic and familial purposes. The Palazzo Davanzati in Florence provides an unusual Italian provenance for a Spanish royal portrait, suggesting collection history that moved the work from its original context through the European art market. Infant royal portraiture was a distinct sub-genre with specific conventions for depicting children in a way that balanced dynastic gravity with the particular charm of early childhood.

Infant portraiture required special management of child anatomy — proportions, skin quality, and the characteristic softness of very young flesh differ substantially from adult subjects. Mengs's smooth sfumato technique was naturally adapted to the delicate skin of children, whose lack of sharp bone structure beneath the face precluded the strong modelling of adult portraiture.