The most characteristic depiction of Felipe IV towards the end of his life is a half-length one, wearing dark clothes with the emblem of the Order of the Golden Fleece around his neck and standing out against a similarly dark background. More than twenty copies of this model devised by Velázquez are known. While portraits of Carlos II are generally full-length and include a more complex setting, there are also examples that look back to those late portraits of his father. The most important of them is the present canvas, the quality of which means that it can be directly associated with Juan Carreño de Miranda, court painter under Carlos II. While it has frequently been dated to the final years of the artist`s life (Carreño died in 1685), a comparison of the sitter`s features with those in his portrait with the emblem of the Golden Fleece (Carlos II as Grand Master of the Order of the Golden Fleece, Rohrau, Schloss Rohrau, Graf Harrach`sche Fammiliensammlung) painted prior to August 1677 suggests a date of around 1680.

Carreño reveals the influence of Velázquez in this portrait of Carlos II, not just in the typology and expressive range but also with regard to the pictorial handling. He thus combines different degrees of finish in response to the image`s expressive requirements. While the face and hair are painted in precise detail, the clothing and its adornments are much more freely executed. This is particularly evident in the chain with the Fleece, which is created from a series of gold dots, as well as in the sleeves, for which Carreño used long, vigorous brushstrokes that suggest rather than define. At the same time, by comparing the way they deployed this type of brushstroke and different degrees of finish, it is possible to distinguish Carreño and Velázquez`s artistic personalities: in contrast to Velázquez`s brushstroke, the function of which is simultaneously expressive, descriptive and structural, Carreño`s reveals less control, suggesting rather than constructing, as is evident in the sleeves in this image of Carlos II.

The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando has a directly related drawing depicting only the head and neck, which is probably a preparatory study for this painting (Portús, J.: Velázquez. Las Meninas and the Late Royal Portraits, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2013, p. 150).