On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P01204
- Author
- Velázquez, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y (Spanish)
- Title
- Francisco Lezcano, `The Boy from Vallecas'
- Chronology
- Ca. 1640
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 107 cm x 83 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal collection
A clearly mentally retarded 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.
Location on the map
