This was the first of five paintings that Velázquez made of the Infanta Margaret Teresa of Austria, although at first it was believed that it was a portraits was her half-sister, the Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain.
Another version with variants, where the infanta seems somewhat older and her hair looks longer, is kept in the Palacio de Liria in Madrid (Casa de Alba Collection). Traditionally assumed to be an authentic work of Velázquez, it is now believed to have been painted by an assistant.[2]
Description
The painting represents the infanta aged two or three years old. She is standing with her right hand resting on a small table where a glass vase containing roses, lilies and daisies stands. The infanta's left hand holds a closed fan.[3]
References
^Velázquez, exhibition catalogue, Madrid, Museo del Prado, 1990 (Spanish)
^Velázquez, exhibition catalogue, Madrid, Museo del Prado, 1990 (Spanish)
^Velázquez, exhibition catalogue, Madrid, Museo del Prado, 1990 (Spanish)