In this artwork, how is the Identification controversy discussed?
There has been some arguments made that the Portrait of Sebastián de Morra is actually that of another dwarf known as "El Primo." A bill from the Archivo de Palacio states that a dwarf painted at Fraga is actually named El Primo. El Primo was previously known to have been the nickname of another dwarf, Diego de Acedo. El Primo was first identified to be the name of the portrait of De Acedo in a catalogue by Pedro de Madrazo in 1872. The portrait was previously unnamed until Madrazo matched a description of a painting the King received with similar clothing to the portrait of De Acedo. The problem is that other inventories have identified De Morra's portrait as El Primo as well. In 1952, José Manuel Pita published an inventory list from 1689 of the Marquess of Carpio in Madrid that describes the painting of De Morra in specific detail, named as El Primo. A later inventory from 1692 of the same collector also gives the name El Primo to De Morra's portrait. What is known about the El Primo is that he was a buffoon who worked for the Count-Duke Olivares. It is documented that Diego de Acedo was the equivalent of a modern-day civil servant for the house and was not a buffoon, leading to the conclusion that De Acedo and El Primo were not the same person. Due to the contradicting nature of multiple documents and inventories, it is impossible to definitively resolve this mystery.
Fraga Sebastián de Morra Pedro de Madrazo Count-Duke Olivares Diego de Acedo. Madrid