Pretty Children Portraits by Diego Velazquez

Pretty Children Portraits by Diego Velazquez

Let us go back to the Diego Velazquez paintings. Above, we see the prince with a dwarf. Both the prince and the dwarf are wearing a dress. Well, dresses was the standardized attire for all little babies, both male and female. It facilitated dipper changers. Its cute how they have the little prince with a sword and baculo. It is an 100% serious portrait, showing the baby as the would be king. His attire also bears the semblance of a knight's armor. Its meant to show his war like nature (?).As for the dwarf, he is dressed like a queen. She has her scepter and an apple. They seem to be playing Kings and Queens in this little painting. It is a major wonder the logic behind giving a short playmate to the Prince. Then again, there were hardly any court children to play with in the palace. Plus, even at such a young age, the prince was being groomed into a king. In any case, this strange children's portrait of Velazquez deserves 5 stars rating.

This painting is just like the one before. This time the dwarf was removed. Again, we see the kid in the same stately pose. The dress looks extremely rich. Its embroider with golden laces. The red is more for background purposes. It also stands for royal blood. This little number of Diego Velazquez gets 5 stars rating.

This is more of a personal work of Diego Velazquez. No one paid him to paint this pretty little darling. There is not much to say about this painting other than it is 5 stars worthy.

Well, I am not a big fan of fans. Heheheh... What I did like about this painting was the eyes of the maiden. Only one is looking at you. Her other eye is lazy. Man, realism is great, for better or for worse. It very interesting the minor details. The maiden shows modesty by adjusting her jacket to cover more of her chest. That same hand has a rosary. Bellow it, she has a blue ribbon. I do not really know what is the purpose behind it. Its obvious that she is about to go out. Her double gloves and jacket were commonly used when ladies got out to go to church. In any case, this pretty woman has earned Velazquez 5 stars rating.

Man, those state portraits are always a real pain. Its cute how these kings and queens like to be painted as larger than life. In all those state portrait, they suppress any trace of humanity. Look at this little girl, they made her look like a Queen, even at her tender age. Its part of the whole vogue of spreading the view that you have to be born a monarch to be a ruler. Thus, a painting as above shows that all rulers, behave like Kings and Queens since their birth. Putting aside their illusions of grandeur, we must admit that this pretty princess has quite the lovely red dress. Its a real bummer, but to me it looks like pink. I guess this painting was badly restored. In any case, Velazquez gets another 5 stars.

Did you notice all these subjects broad forehead and chin? That was a common facial trait of all from the Hapsburg dynasty. Yeah, there was a lot of inbreeding in that family to preserve the throne within their bloodline. You know, cousins marrying cousins and all. Regardless, you got to admit that their ladies did have the loveliest of dresses. By now, black had gone out of style. Now, the rich and the royals liked more lively colors, like pink and gold. In any case, this princess painting of Diego Velazquez deserves 5 stars rating.

This pretty little darling is the princess from Las Meninas. This princess was important because she legitimized the marriage of the King's new wife. His old wife had die, or was killed (I forget). Now, he needed a new queen. With a new queen the focused change to her children. As the first born of this new line, this princess was the one who would inherit the throne. Thus, her state portraits became really important. You got to admit that she is one pretty little darling. Her dress is so fine. 5 stars for Velazquez. It is a pity that the colors are a bit faded. Via the chair in the foreground we get a good idea of the size of this little princess.

Above, we see the princess wearing another fancy dress. That Velazquez was really advance with his impressionistic tricks. Then again, most painters acquire loose brushstrokes at later times of their lives. In any case, this pretty painting deserves 5 stars rating.

 It took a while for the Queen to produce a male heir. Now this little kid is the center of attention. You see those bells on his dress? Like cows, in the old days they used to put bells on the little kids to keep track of them. It also kept them entertained. Sewed on his dress are 3 kinds of toys. Beside him, there is also his favorite puppy. We all know, that doggies are little boys' best friends. Why is the prince wearing a pink dress? Well, they were treated as chicks until they entered manhood. The age when a guys was considered men in those days was... I think it was either 6 or 7. Yeah, relativity wise, the sooner they could marry off the kid, the better. It was rare for kids in those days to survive the first few years. In any case, this pretty darling deserves 5 stars rating.

Fertility (or lack thereof) was a big issue back then. Thus, they emphasized the princess birthing hips with the hopes that she would produce a lot of male heirs. As for the pink, its a major bummer about this dress. To me, it looks more red and blue than pink. Regardless, her dress came out extremely pretty. I think this was the last painting that featured this princes. In any case, Diego Velazquez deserves 5 stars rating for this pretty painting.