A Child in Ecclesiastical Dress

Artist Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo (Spanish, 1612-1667)

Place of OriginSpain

Dateabout 1660-1667

DimensionsPainting: 65 7/8 × 48 in. (167.3 × 121.9 cm)
Frame: 75 × 57 1/4 × 2 1/2 in. (190.5 × 145.4 × 6.4 cm)

MediumOil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1951.364

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 36

Label TextWho is depicted in this Spanish portrait? No one knows for sure, although we do know the portrait shows a male figure dressed as a Catholic cardinal standing in a room of one of the royal palaces in Madrid. Since no child cardinals were named during this period, some scholars believe it might be one of the many entertainers from the royal court dressed in costume. King Philip IV (reigned 1621-1665) appointed Juan Bautista del Mazo chief court painter in 1660, the year that Mazo’s teacher and father-in-law, Diego Velázquez, died. Be sure to see Man with a Wine Glass, a portrait of a court entertainer attributed to Velázquez, in Gallery 24.Published ReferencesWaagen, G. F., Der vornehmsten Kunstkenkmaler in Wien, Vienna, 1866, no. 338 (as Velazquez).

Curtis, C. B., Velazquez and Murillo New York, 1883, no. 150 (as Velazquez).

Lefort, P., Velazquez, Paris, 1888, p. 146 (as Velazquez).

Justi, C., Velazquez und sein Jahrhundert, 2nd. ed., Bonn, 1903, II, p. 260; 4th ed., Zurich, 1933, pp. 683-685, 753, repr. p. 655 (as by Mazo).

Kronfeld, A., Meisterwerke der Malerei Wiener Galerien, Wein, 1904, p. 36, repr. p. 28.

Baldry, A., Velazquez, London, 1905, p. XXIX (as Velazquez).

de Beruete y Moret, A., The School of Madrid, London, 1909, pp. 119-21 (as Mazo).

Preyer, David C., The Art of the Vienna Galleries, Boston, 1911, p. 280.

Gluck, G., Die Harrachsche Bildergalerie, Vienna, 1923, no. 13, repr. (as Mazo).

Mayer, A. L., Velazquez, A Catalogue Raisonne of the Pictures and Drawings, London, 1936, no. 437, pl 112 (as probably Mazo).

Gaya Nuno, J. A., La pintura espanola fuera de Espana, Madrid, 1958, no. 1724 (as attributed to Velazquez).

Kubler, G., and M. Soria, Art and Architecture in Spain and Portugal and Their American Dominions, 1500-1800, Harmondsworth, 1959, pp. 264, 284 (as Mazo).

"Details, European Paintings," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 4, no. 1, Winter 1961, p. 6.

Moisy, Pierre, "La Galerie Harrach a Vienne," L'Oeil, February 1962, no. 86, pp. 34-41, p. 78.

Rogers, Millard F., "La pintura española en el Museo de Toledo (Ohio)," Goya, no. 49, Julio-Agosto, 1962, p. 27, repr. p. 27.

Lopéz-Rey, J., Velazquez: A Catalogue Raisonne of His Oeuvre, London, 1963, no. 481, pl. 309 (as perhaps Mazo).

Canon-Aznar, J., Velazquez, Madrid, 1964, II, pp. 978-79, repr. (as Carreno).

Rogers, M. F., "Spanish Painting in the Museum Collection," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, X, Summer 1967, pp. 35-6, repr.

Fernández, J. B., Juan Carreno, pintor de Camera de Carlos II, Madrid, 1972, pp. 50-1, repr. p. 129 (as Juan Carreno).

Toledo Museum of Art, European Paintings, Toledo, 1976, pp. 110-111, pl. 59.

Sullivan, Edward J. and Nina A. Mallory, Painting in Spain 1650-1700, Princeton, University Art Museum, 1982, no. 21, pp. 80, 81, repr. p. 135.

Sullivan, Edward J., Baroque Painting in Madrid, Columbia, MO, 1986, p. 3, fig. 2.

Orso, Steven N., "Mazo's 'Child in Ecclesiastical Dress:' Suggestions for a New Interpretation," Konsthistorisk Tidskrift LXVI, Hafte 2-3, 1997, pp. 143-154.

Bottineau, Yves, Velasquez, Paris 1998, fig. 271.

En torno a Velazquez: pintura espanola del siglo de oro, London, 1999, pp. 157, 158, fig. 1, p. 156.

Kientz, Guillaume, Velázquez, Paris, Reunion des musees nationaux-Grand Palais, 2015, p. 316, repr. (col.) p. 317, cat. 100.

Bottineau, Yves, Velasquez, Paris, Editions Citadelles & Mazenod, 2015, p. 354, fig. 315, repr. (col.).

Exhibition HistoryColumbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Spanish Exhibition, 1954.

Princeton, University Art Museum; Detroit Institute of Arts, Painting in Spain 1650-1700, 1982, no. 21.

Paris, Grand Palais, Velázquez, Mar. 25-July 13, 2015.