Portrait of Sebastián de Morra
Encyclopedia
The Portrait of Sebastián de Morra is a portrait by Diego Velázquez
of Sebastián de Morra, a dwarf and jester at the court of Philip IV of Spain
. It was painted in around 1645 and is now in the Prado in Madrid
.
The subject was crippled from birth and the subject of mockery and abuse from the noblemen at the court. Velázquez portrays his whole body, sitting on the ground, wearing a rich cloak and with his short legs pointing forward in an inelegant position reminiscent of a marionette
. He looks directly at the viewer, motionless, making no hand gestures, in denunciation of the court's treatment of himself and other dwarves. His expression is severe and sad, contrasting with his profession of jester and reflecting the torment of man.
Diego Velázquez
Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist...
of Sebastián de Morra, a dwarf and jester at the court of Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...
. It was painted in around 1645 and is now in the Prado in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
.
The subject was crippled from birth and the subject of mockery and abuse from the noblemen at the court. Velázquez portrays his whole body, sitting on the ground, wearing a rich cloak and with his short legs pointing forward in an inelegant position reminiscent of a marionette
Marionette
A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms...
. He looks directly at the viewer, motionless, making no hand gestures, in denunciation of the court's treatment of himself and other dwarves. His expression is severe and sad, contrasting with his profession of jester and reflecting the torment of man.