How does this artwork elucidate its Commission and dating?
Velázquez was then the Spanish crown painter, having been Aposentador mayor del Palacio (officer in charge of palace lodging) since 1652. He operated in a pressurised court under threat from the anti-Catholic Oliver Cromwell, the Catalan revolt, and the withdrawal of Austrian support. He admitted to being drained by his workload, and that his official duties limited the time he could devote to painting; he produced fewer than twenty works during the last eight and a half years of his life. Of these some fourteen survive, mostly of the royal family. The run of portraits began with Philip and Mariana's marriage in 1649, and include canvases of Maria Theresa of Spain and Felipe Prospero, their first two children to live beyond infancy. Felipe died aged 3 years, but portraits of Maria Theresa became in demand among potential suitors when she reached marriageable age.
When Ferdinand III requested a portrait of his daughter, Philip asked Velázquez to return to Madrid from his 1649–1650 visit to Italy as soon as possible. The Prado dates the painting between 1652 and 1653, and the art historian José López-Rey agrees. Josep Gudiol places it at 1652, noting that replicas were completed and distributed during 1652–1653. The replica now in the Musée du Louvre was sent to Ferdinand on 15 December 1652. From this, the painting can be assumed as finished before this date.Velázquez again painted Mariana after Philip's death in 1665. Imbued with a sense of pathos, his late portraits emphasise the effects of widowhood. Although these portraits are dour and mournful in tone, in person Mariana was engaging and fun loving. The 1653 Portrait of the Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain shows the sitter in a very similar pose, complete with large wig, wide dress, and similar overhanging velvet curtain.
Ferdinand Felipe Prospero Musée du Louvre Maria Theresa of Spain Portrait of the Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain Louvre Madrid Catalan revolt Spanish Oliver Cromwell