Infanta Margarita in a blue Dress

One year before his death Velázquez created this portrait of the eight-year old Infanta as well as that of her little brother Philip Prosper (Inv.-No. 319); they were to be his last completed works. That year the pictures went to Emperor Leopold I, who married the Infanta in 1666. The painter’s personal style reached its highpoint here: shimmering spots of colour on wide painting surfaces produce an almost impressionistic effect – the viewer must stand at a suitable distance to get the impression of complete, three-dimensional spatiality.