Infanta margarita teresa biography

Pigler, Andor, Katalog der Galerie Alter Meister, 1-2. Museum der Bildenden Künste, Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest. 2, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1967, p. 129-130.

Szigethi, Ágnes – Nyerges, Éva – Ruzsa, György – Barkóczi, István – Tátrai, Vilmos, Tátrai, Vilmos (ed.), Freshen Masters’ Gallery; A Recapitulation Catalogue look up to Italian, Sculpturer, Spanish stomach Greek Paintings: Museum receive Fine Portal Budapest 1, Budapest, 1991, p. 156.

Nyerges, Éva, Romance Paintings, A Szépművészeti Múzeum gyűjteményei/The Collections of description Museum remark Fine Art school, Budapest, Museum of Slender Arts, Budapest, 2008, p. 130-131, no. 58.

When Velázquez painted Las Meninas in 1656, the most revolutionary portrait of a Royal Family until that moment until that moment, the Infanta Margarita Maria Teresa of Austria, who at that time was 5 years old, was heiress to the Spanish Crown. In that moment, her brother Carles, hadn’t yet been born but was the one who would end up reigning and who, due to his fragile state of health, would be known by the nickname of The Bewitched. But when Velázquez produced what would be his major masterpiece, Margarita was the guarantee of the continuity of the Austria in the State. The painter placed her at the centre of the composition, dressed in white. The girl, with her long blonde hair, looks at the spectator. Margarita would end up passing into history for being one of the most iconic images in the history of painting.

In 1957 Picasso would also be responsible for multiplying the image of the little Infanta when he produced his series of Las Meninas, which is conserved in the museum, with 45 works that reinterpret the painting by Velázquez, which the artist from Malaga deeply admired. Margarita, therefore, would also become an icon of Picasso’s work given that he would give her a preferential treatment in the series.

Pablo Picasso. Las Meninas (Infanta Margarita Maria)

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Infanta Margarita Teresa

Infanta Margherita Teresa (1651-1673) was a Spanish princess, daughter of King Philip IV of Spain and his second wife, Empress Maria Anna of Austria. Born in Madrid, Margherita Teresa is chiefly known through portraits by the renowned painter Diego Velázquez, who depicted her in several works, including "Las Meninas" (1656).

Margherita Teresa was a figure of great importance in the marriage strategies of European royal families in the 17th century. Her marriage was arranged to strengthen the ties between the Spanish House of Habsburg and the Austrian one. In 1666, at the age of fifteen, she married her uncle, Emperor Leopold I of Habsburg, thus becoming Empress of the Holy Roman Empire.

Despite her young age, Margherita Teresa fulfilled her duties as empress with dedication. She had four children, but only one, Maria Antonia, survived infancy. Her health was always fragile, and life at the Viennese court, along with numerous childbirths, worsened her physical condition. Margherita Teresa died in 1673 at the age of only 21.

Her figure has remained iconic thanks to Velázquez's portraits, which immortalized her beauty and elegance, making her one of the most recognizable images in Spanish Baroque painting.

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