On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P07065
- Author
- Hamen y León, Juan van der (Spanish)
- Title
- Portrait of a Dwarf
- Chronology
- Ca. 1626
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 122 cm x 87 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- No
- Entrance
- DONACION
- Procedence
- Donation Bertrán Foundation, 1986
A sumptuously dressed and armed
dwarf holds a ruler's staff, an
attribute of power that cannot have
corresponded to his status. He was
probably one of the court buffoons,
who were showered with presents and
dressed in ostentatious luxury.
Since the sixteenth century,
portraits of these figures were
quite customary, although it was
Velasquez who explored this genre
with singular mastery. The date
generally attributed to this
extraordinary portrait indicates
that the model might be Bartolillo,
a dwarf whose presence in the
Palace is documented between 1621
and 1626.
Juan van der Hamen was best known
for his excellent still lifes,
although he also made religious
paintings and portraits of high
quality, like the present one.
Notable here, besides the marked
detail and tenebrist lighting, is
the expressive strength of the
protagonist, who is portrayed with
enormous dignity and an expression
that is practically defiant.
