''The Jester Don Diego de Acedo'' is one of a series of portraits of jesters at the court of Philip IV of Spain by

Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptized June 6, 1599August 6, 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He was an individualistic artist of th ...

. Its subject is the dwarf Don Diego de Acedo, known as "el Primo" (the Cousin). The 1645 oil painting is now in the Prado Museum. The work measures 106 cm high and 83 cm wide. Velázquez painted a series of portraits of dwarfs and jesters of the court of Philip IV, depicted with realism and respect. The portraits were intended to be displayed in the king's hunting lodge, the Torre de la Parada. Don Diego de Acedo was a figure of fun whose physical deformity provided entertainment for the court. As with another subject, '' Portrait of Sebastián de Morra'', Velázquez pictured de Acedo's whole body seated on the ground. Don Diego de Acedo is pictured looking at the observer. Dressed in black, he is reading a book, which is the traditional representation of a

gentleman A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

. The size of the tome in his lap emphasizes the dwarf's smallness. The eyes, high forehead and attitude of the model conveys a sense of his intelligence. At his feet lie a pile of books with an inkwell and feather. The bottom is possibly unfinished, as a foggy landscape can be seen.

References

Laura Cumming, The Vanishing Velasquez, New York and London: Scribner, 2016, p.p. 88-90

External links

''Velázquez ''
exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on this painting (see index) {{DEFAULTSORT:Jester Don Diego de Acedo Portraits by Diego Velázquez in the Museo del Prado 1645 paintings 17th-century portraits Portraits of men Portraits by Diego Velázquez