Prince Baltasar Carlos was the son of Felipe IV and Isabel de Bourbon. He was born in 1629 and died in 1646. All hopes for a continuation of the dynasty were cut short by his early death. Hunting was considered an appropriate activity for training the monarchs, and the prince proved especially skillful in this art from a very early age. He is accompanied by two magnificent dogs, one of which is incomplete because the painting was made smaller. The bluish mountains of the Sierra Madrileña in the background are a clear example of Velasquez's interest in landscape and atmospheric conditions.

This work was painted for the Torre de la Parada hunting lodge. An inscription at the bottom gives the prince's age as six, which makes it possible to date the painting from between October 1635 and October of the following year.

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