A person sits in the shelter of a boulder, wearing a tabard and green trousers and holding cards in his hands. He is traditionally thought to be Francisco Lezcano, nicknamed “the Child of Vallecas” because a buffoon of that name appears in palace documents from 1634 until his death in 1649.

With his customary sensitivity, Velasquez presents a person filled with tenderness, a perfect companion and entertainment to Prince Baltasar Carlos, whom he served. But, beyond its plastic values, this is a portrait in which the iconographic elements, such as the cards or the outdoor setting, recall portraits of Anchorites, suggesting a new metaphorical game of the sort Velasquez much enjoyed. Even today it has yet to be fully identified.

The work is mentioned in the Alcázar Palace of Madrid beginning in 1666. After the fire it was transferred to the Retiro, and then back to the Royal Palace. From there, it entered the Prado Museum in 1819.