Diego Velázquez
On this day in 1599, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, a Spanish painter and leading artist in the court of King Philip IV (and one of the most important painters of the Spanish Golden Age), was born. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period. In addition to numerous renditions of scenes of historical and cultural significance, he painted scores of portraits of the Spanish royal family, other notable European figures, and commoners, culminating in the production of his masterpiece Las Meninas.
Today we present one of his amazing portraits. The daughter of King Philip IV of Spain, María Teresa became the presumptive heir to the throne in 1646. Princely suitors from around Europe were keen to have a portrait of the young infanta as she reached marriageable age. Originally bust length but subsequently cut down and then reenlarged at the bottom, this likeness of María Teresa wearing a wig with butterfly ribbons may have served as a model for Velázquez's assistants to copy as they met the demand for official portraits of the young princess. In 1660 the infanta married Louis XIV (THAT Louis XIV!), her first cousin, becoming queen of France.
P.S. Here's everything you must know about Las Meninas. <3