Portrait of the Infanta Maria Teresa

Infanta Maria Teresa at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, painted around 1650, shows Philip IV's eldest surviving daughter at about twelve. Maria Teresa would marry Louis XIV in 1660, the union that was the centerpiece of the Peace of the Pyrenees ending decades of Franco-Spanish warfare. Velázquez's uncompromising naturalism and psychological penetration, combined with his revolutionary loose handling of paint in his late work, made him one of the most admired painters in history, his technique anticipating Impressionism and influencing Manet, Sargent, and countless others.

The infanta's blonde hair and fair complexion are rendered with luminous warmth against the dark background. The elaborate court dress provides extensive passages of decorative painting, but Velazquez keeps the face as the clear focal point through stronger modeling and sharper detail.