Seated on an ermine robe in a chair, the Infante holds his hat in his left hand and a small bird in his right. The insignias of the Golden Fleece and the Order of Saint Jennaro hang on his chest. The sitter’s facial features appear to match those of Charles III’s youngest son, Javier, who was born in Naples in 1757 and died prematurely in Aranjuez in 1771. The Museo del Prado has a portrait of him by Mengs from the 1760s (P02195), and in both works he lacks the Order of the Saint-Esprit. Here, he appears to be around six or seven years old, which would coincide with the series of portraits painted by Tiepolo around 1763 or soon thereafter.

Along with D07435, D07428, D07438, D07420 and D07421, this must be one of the portraits attributed to one of Tiepolo’s sons, mentioned in the 1794 Inventory of the New Palace in Madrid (Text drawn from Mena Marqués, M.: Catálogo de dibujos. VII. Dibujos italianos del siglo XVIII y del siglo XIX, Museo del Prado, 1990, p. 150).