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{{Short description|Painting by Diego Velázquez}}
{{Infobox artwork
|title=Portrait of Sebastián de Morra
|image_file=Diego Velázquez – El bufón el Primo (Museo del Prado, 1644).jpg
|artist=[[Diego Velázquez]]
|year=c. 1644
|medium=Oil on canvas
|height_metric=106.5
|width_metric=81.5
|museum=[[Museo del Prado]]
|city=[[Madrid]]
}}

The '''''Portrait of Sebastián de Morra''''' is a painting by [[Diego Velázquez]] of Sebastián de Morra, a [[court dwarf]] and [[jester]] at the court of [[Philip IV of Spain]]. It was painted around 1644 and is now in the [[Prado]] in [[Madrid]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-buffoon-el-primo/cc7a8493-e2ff-4d33-a0d0-91d7dc210d5a|title=The Buffoon El Primo - The Collection|website=Museo Nacional del Prado|language=en|access-date=2019-04-25}}</ref> Not much is documented about De Morra's life, other than the fact that he was brought to Spain by Philip IV in 1643 and served the court for six years before his death in 1649.<ref name=":12" /> It was not until Velázquez became a court painter that he showed dwarfs with a warmer and naturalistic style compared to previous paintings.<ref name=":22"/> De Morra looks directly at the viewer, motionless, making no hand gestures, leading one critic to suggest that the painting represents a denunciation of the court's treatment of de Morra and other dwarfs.<ref name="AP">Andreas Prater, "The Baroque" in ''The masters of western painting'', [[Taschen]], 2005, page. 270, {{ISBN|3-8228-4744-5}}</ref> Recently discovered inventories and previous documents relating to De Morra reveal that he was also known by a nickname, El Primo.<ref name=":4" />

== Subject ==

=== Don Sebastián de Morra ===
Sebastián de Morra was acquired by King Philip IV in 1643 from his younger brother Cardinal Infante Fernando.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|title=The World of Velázquez, 1599-1660|last=Brown|first=Dale M.|publisher=Time-Life|year=1972|location=New York|pages=131}}</ref> He was then given over to Prince Baltasar Carlos until the prince's death in 1646<ref>{{Cite book|title=Velázquez: A Catalogue Raisonné of His Oeuvre|last=Lopez-Rey|first=Jose|publisher=Faber and Faber|year=1963|location=London|pages=267}}</ref> De Morra's job was to keep the prince entertained with humor.<ref name=":22"/> Following the death of Prince Carlos, De Morra died in October 1649 after six years of service to the court.<ref name=":22"/> An analysis of the canvases on which portraits of De Morra and Philip IV were painted, conducted by the Thread Count Automation Project, lead to the conclusion that they were both painted from the same piece of cloth.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=D'ors|first1=Pablo Perez|last2=Johnson|first2=Richard|date=2012|title=Velazquez in Fraga: a new hypothesis about the portraits of El Primo and Philip IV|journal=The Burlington Magazine|volume=154|issue=1314|pages=623|jstor=41812780}}</ref> This conclusion revealed that De Morra's portrait was painted in [[Fraga]], along with Philip's portrait.<ref name=":4" />

=== Court dwarfs ===
Known as ''sabandijas,'' 'little serpents', [[Jester|court jester]] dwarfs were employed by kings as far back as the medieval period.<ref name="Riggs 1947 171–172">{{Cite book|title=Velazquez,: Painter of Truth and Prisoner of the King|url=https://archive.org/details/velzquezpainte00rigg|url-access=registration|last=Riggs|first=Arthur Stanley|publisher=Bobbs-Merrill|year=1947|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/velzquezpainte00rigg/page/171 171]–172}}</ref> Being either born with a deformity or deformed on purpose at the time of birth, court jesters became slaves to the royal court and family.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Velazquez,: Painter of Truth and Prisoner of the King|url=https://archive.org/details/velzquezpainte00rigg|url-access=registration|last=Riggs|first=Arthur Stanley|publisher=Bobbs-Merrill|year=1947|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/velzquezpainte00rigg/page/171 171]}}</ref> Because they were seen as entertainment, dwarfs were no longer painted as symbolic figures and instead with a realistic style.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/livesofdwarfs00bett|url-access=registration|title=The Lives of Dwarfs: The Journey from Public Curiosity Toward Social Liberation|last=Adelson|first=Betty M.|publisher=Rutgers University Press|year=2005|location=New Brunswick, N.J|pages=[https://archive.org/details/livesofdwarfs00bett/page/146 146]|isbn=9780813535487 }}</ref> Since dwarfs were so prominent in court life, they were also included in paintings with multiple figures.<ref name=":7" /> Previous Spanish [[court painter]]s before Velázquez painted dwarfs with coldness and carelessness, since dwarfs were seen as human pets.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The World of Velázquez, 1599-1660|last=Brown|first=Dale M.|publisher=Time-Life|year=1972|location=New York|pages=120}}</ref> Dwarfs were also painted with extreme stiffness and disdain for them was also visible in their portraits.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The World of Velázquez, 1599-1660|last=Brown|first=Dale M.|publisher=Time-Life|year=1972|location=New York|pages=124}}</ref>

Court dwarfs were portrayed in paintings as the property of their masters, being summoned back and forth at their master's request.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The World of Velázquez, 1599-1660|last=Brown|first=Dale M.|publisher=Time-Life|year=1972|location=New York|pages=124}}</ref> Typically, dwarfs were painted as being obedient and as under the ownership of their masters by placing their hands on the dwarf's head. Dwarfs were seen as only one class higher than animals status-wise. Dwarfs were often painted holding an animal of some kind when with their masters. However, dwarfs with artistic or literature abilities were spared from having to train and play with animals.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Adelson |first=Betty M. |url=https://archive.org/details/livesofdwarfs00bett |title=The Lives of Dwarfs: The Journey from Public Curiosity Toward Social Liberation |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=2005 |isbn=9780813535487 |location=New Brunswick |pages=[https://archive.org/details/livesofdwarfs00bett/page/147 147] |url-access=registration}}</ref>

Art historian [[Enriqueta Harris]] stated that Velázquez's paintings of dwarfs did not belong in the same space as classical paintings that he had done as well. However, Catherine Closet-Crane, author of a critical essay about Velázquez's dwarf portraits, states that the portraits were in fact meant to be seen with other Velázquez portraits. She even discusses that the portraits could also be seen alongside some of [[Peter Paul Rubens|Rubens]]'s portraits, such as of philosophers [[Democritus]] and [[Heraclitus]].<ref name=":22" /> Dwarfs were commonly painted from the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries, but their prominence in art declined afterwards.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/livesofdwarfs00bett|url-access=registration|title=The Lives of Dwarfs: The Journey from Public Curiosity Toward Social Liberation|last=Adelson|first=Betty M.|year=2005|pages=[https://archive.org/details/livesofdwarfs00bett/page/150 150]|publisher=New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press|isbn=9780813535487 }}</ref>

== Artist ==

=== Work as court painter ===
Diego Velázquez was born on 1599 in Seville, Spain where he carried out his painting career until he eventually moved to Madrid at age 24.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/artist/velazquez-diego-rodriguez-de-silva-y/434337e9-77e4-4597-a962-ef47304d930d|title=Velázquez, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y - The Collection|website=Museo Nacional del Prado|language=en|access-date=2019-04-18}}</ref> Diego Velázquez's naturalistic style was one of Spain's first introduction to the [[Caravaggio]] style that was sweeping across Europe.<ref name=":1" /> Velázquez was soon employed as the court painter to Philip IV of Spain in 1628 (age 29).<ref name=":11">{{Cite journal|last=Edgar|first=Andrew|date=2003|title=Velazquez and the representation of dignity|journal=Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy|volume=6|issue=2|pages=111–121|via=Springer Standard Collection|doi=10.1023/A:1024162811282|pmid=12870632 |s2cid=25247355 }}</ref> During his time as court painter, Velázquez's work focused mainly on paintings for royal apartments and the court.<ref name=":11" /> Diego Velázquez's first piece for King Philip IV was when he was hired to paint his portrait by the [[Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares|Count Duke of Olivares]].<ref name=":1" /> A court painter's job was to depict the royal family and the court in a positive light. Velázquez's painting so impressed King Philip that he hired Velasquez as the chamber's painter, with administrative duties being among a few of the other jobs he also held in the palace.<ref name=":1" /> Velázquez is known for having completed at least ten dwarf portraits.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/livesofdwarfs00bett|url-access=registration|title=The Lives of Dwarfs: The Journey from Public Curiosity Toward Social Liberation|last=Adelson|first=Betty M.|publisher=Rutgers University Press|year=2005|location=New Brunswick, N.J|pages=[https://archive.org/details/livesofdwarfs00bett/page/149 149]|isbn=9780813535487 }}</ref> These paintings are on display in the Prado in Madrid.<ref name=":9" />

== Visual analysis ==

=== Composition and style ===
Famous for capturing great detail in his realistic style paintings, Velázquez demonstrates these qualities in his portrait of Sebastián de Morra.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Hajar|first=Rachel|date=2009-04-01|title=Dwarf sitting on the floor|url=http://www.heartviews.org/article.asp?issn=1995-705X;year=2009;volume=10;issue=2;spage=84;epage=84;aulast=Hajar;type=0|journal=Heart Views|language=en|volume=10|issue=2|pages=84|issn=1995-705X}}</ref> By painting Morra from a straight-on view, Velázquez managed to highlight Morra's obvious resentment of his physical nature and the disability itself.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The World of Velázquez, 1599-1660|last=Brown|first=Dale M.|publisher=Time-Life|year=1972|location=New York|pages=131}}</ref> De Morra is placed against a plain dark background with no objects in sight.<ref name=":22"/> The structure of the painting was originally oval instead of a square, as evident in markings on the canvas.<ref name=":3" /> Missing pieces in the corners are also evidence that the canvas was meant to be fit in an oval stretcher.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last1=D'ors|first1=Pablo Perez|last2=Johnson|first2=Richard|date=2012|title=Velázquez in Fraga: a new hypothesis about the portraits of El Primo and Philip IV|journal=The Burlington Magazine|volume=154|issue=1314|pages=622|jstor=41812780}}</ref> In 1734 a fire destroyed the [[Royal Alcázar of Madrid|Real Alcazar]] of Madrid where the portrait of De Morra was held.<ref name=":5" /> This could have been the reason the canvas was cut irregularly, to save it from further fire damage.<ref name=":5" /> The wall in the painting itself is believed to have been scorched by a fire of unknown origin.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Velazquez|last=Trapier|first=Elizabeth Du Gue|publisher=Printed by Order of the Trustees|year=1948|location=New York|pages=278}}</ref> The lack of a background leads to the conclusion that De Morra is alienated from the outside world and a normal social life.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Dwarfs+as+seventeenth-century+cynics+at+the+court+of+Philip+IV+of...-a0170372826|title=Dwarfs as seventeenth-century cynics at the court of Philip IV of Spain: a study of Velazquez' portraits of palace dwarfs. - Free Online Library|website=www.thefreelibrary.com|access-date=2019-05-05}}</ref> De Morra's right side of his face is in shadow due to the tilted angle of his head and light source on the left.<ref name=":3" /> The light source helps to ground the figure, for it would have appeared he was floating in space in an otherwise dark background.<ref name=":22"/> The white collar and cuffs on De Morra's outfit are made out of expensive lace material, which cause the viewer to pay closer attention to his hands and face.<ref name=":22"/> The red and gold trimmed cape around his figure help draw the viewers gaze from the cape towards his face.<ref name=":22"/> The cape and collar around De Morra's head bare a similar appearance to the military coat worn by Philip IV. De Morra's hands are resting on his side, in which Velázquez did not include any finger appendages.<ref name=":22"/>

=== Artist's personal view ===
Diego Velázquez's decency was one of his most well known characteristics, which was illustrated in his portraits of dwarfs and fools. Contrary to common Spanish criticism, Velázquez painted dwarfs because he felt there was beauty in painting truth, not simply to capture ugliness.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Velazquez,: Painter of Truth and Prisoner of the King|url=https://archive.org/details/velzquezpainte00rigg|url-access=registration|last=Riggs|first=Arthur Stanley|publisher=Bobbs-Merrill|year=1947|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/velzquezpainte00rigg/page/175 175]}}</ref> Instead of depicting dwarfs as simple deformed entertainers, Velázquez showed dwarfs with humanity that at times surpassed other men of the court.<ref name=":22"/> Velazquez showed his sympathy for court jesters in his paintings/studies after being surrounded by dwarfs for years on while employed by the royal court.<ref name="Riggs 1947 171–172"/> Velázquez painted dwarfs with the same humanity that he did for the royal family in order to wanted to show that dwarfs were no less as human beings.<ref name=":10" /> However, while Velázquez's [[Realism (arts)|naturalistic]] and charitable depictions of the invalids and dwarfs maintained by the court strongly suggests he, as [[court painter]], felt some empathy with their situation, the painter's opinions are never specifically stated in any documented fashion.<ref>For a representation of a court dwarf in Medici Court, see [[Niccolò Cassana]].</ref> As slaves to the royal court though, Velázquez took it upon himself to illustrate how court jesters felt and were seen as to the rest of the world.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Velazquez,: Painter of Truth and Prisoner of the King|url=https://archive.org/details/velzquezpainte00rigg|url-access=registration|last=Riggs|first=Arthur Stanley|publisher=Bobbs-Merrill|year=1947|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/velzquezpainte00rigg/page/172 172]}}</ref> Velázquez's closer than otherwise normal studies of court jesters are concluded as a result of his admiration of their jokes and humor.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Velazquez,: Painter of Truth and Prisoner of the King|url=https://archive.org/details/velzquezpainte00rigg|url-access=registration|last=Riggs|first=Arthur Stanley|publisher=Bobbs-Merrill|year=1947|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/velzquezpainte00rigg/page/173 173]}}</ref>

== Identification controversy ==
There has been some arguments made that the ''Portrait of Sebastián de Morra'' is actually that of another dwarf known as "El Primo."<ref name=":4" /> A bill from the Archivo de Palacio states that a dwarf painted at Fraga is actually named El Primo.<ref name=":4" /> El Primo was previously known to have been the nickname of another dwarf, [[The Jester Don Diego de Acedo|Diego de Acedo.]]<ref name=":4" /> El Primo was first identified to be the name of the portrait of De Acedo in a catalogue by [[Pedro de Madrazo]] in 1872.<ref name=":4" /> 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.<ref name=":4" /> The problem is that other inventories have identified De Morra's portrait as El Primo as well.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last1=D'ors|first1=Pablo Perez|last2=Johnson|first2=Richard|date=2012|title=Velázquez in Fraga: a new hypothesis about the portraits of El Primo and Philip IV|journal=The Burlington Magazine|volume=154|issue=1314|pages=624|jstor=41812780}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":6" /> A later inventory from 1692 of the same collector also gives the name El Primo to De Morra's portrait.<ref name=":6" /> What is known about the El Primo is that he was a buffoon who worked for the [[Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares|Count-Duke Olivares]].<ref name=":6" /> 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.<ref name=":6" /> Due to the contradicting nature of multiple documents and inventories, it is impossible to definitively resolve this mystery.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=D'ors|first1=Pablo Perez|last2=Johnson|first2=Richard|date=2012|title=Velázquez in Fraga: a new hypothesis about the portraits of El Primo and Philip IV|journal=The Burlington Magazine|volume=154|issue=1314|pages=625|jstor=41812780}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of works by Diego Velázquez]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==

*Adelson, Betty M. ''The Lives of Dwarfs: The Journey from Public Curiosity Toward Social Liberation''. New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press, 2005. Internet resource.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Adelson |first=Betty M. |url=https://archive.org/details/livesofdwarfs00bett |title=The lives of dwarfs : the journey from public curiosity toward social liberation |date=2005 |publisher=New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-8135-3548-7}}</ref>
*Andreas Prater, "The Baroque" in ''The masters of western painting,'' Taschen, 2005, page 270, {{ISBN|3-8228-4744-5}}
*Brown, Dale M. The World of Velázquez, 1599–1660. Rev. ed. New York: Time-Life, 1972. Print. Time-Life Library of Art.
*D'ORS, PABLO PÉREZ, et al. “Velázquez in Fraga: a New Hypothesis about the Portraits of El Primo and Philip IV.” ''The Burlington Magazine'', vol. 154, no. 1314, 2012, pp. 620–625. ''JSTOR'',<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=D'Ors |first1=Pablo Pérez |last2=Johnson |first2=Richard |last3=Johnson |first3=Don |date=2012 |title=Velázquez in Fraga: a new hypothesis about the portraits of El Primo and Philip IV |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41812780 |journal=The Burlington Magazine |volume=154 |issue=1314 |pages=620–625 |jstor=41812780 |issn=0007-6287}}</ref>
*"Dwarfs as seventeenth-century cynics at the court of Philip IV of Spain: a study of Velazquez' portraits of palace dwarfs.." The Free Library. 2005 University of Puerto Rico, Faculty of Arts and Sciences 5 May. 2019<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dwarfs as seventeenth-century cynics at the court of Philip IV of Spain: a study of Velazquez' portraits of palace dwarfs. - Free Online Library |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Dwarfs+as+seventeenth-century+cynics+at+the+court+of+Philip+IV+of...-a0170372826 |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=www.thefreelibrary.com}}</ref>
*Edgar, Andrew. "Velázquez and the Representation of Dignity." Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 6.2 (2003): 111–21. Web.
*Hajar R. Dwarf sitting on the floor. Heart Views 2009;10:84. http://www.heartviews.org/text.asp?2009/10/2/84/63758
*López-Rey, José. Velázquez: A Catalogue Raisonné of His Oeuvre. London: Faber and Faber, 1963. Print.
*Riggs, Arthur Stanley. Velázquez,: Painter of Truth and Prisoner of the King. 1st Ed.]. ed. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1947. Print.
*"The Buffoon El Primo - The Collection". ''Museo Nacional del Prado''. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
*Trapier, Elizabeth Du Gué. Velazquez. New York: Printed by Order of the Trustees, 1948. Print. Hispanic Notes & Monographs; Essays, Studies, and Brief Biographies. Peninsular Ser.
*Veatch, Laura. "Made in God’s Image: Velazquez’s Portraits of Dwarves." https://www.lagrange.edu/resources/pdf/citations/2010/04Veatch_Art.pdf
*

==External links==
*[http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/63259/rec/2 ''Velázquez ''], exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on this portrait (see index)

{{Diego Velázquez}}
{{Museo del Prado}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Portrait of Sebastian de Morra}}
[[Category:Portraits by Diego Velázquez in the Museo del Prado|Sebastian de Morra]]
[[Category:Portraits of men|Sebastián de Morra]]
[[Category:1645 paintings]]
[[Category:17th-century portraits|Sebastián de Morra]]
[[Category:1640s in Spain]]
[[Category:Portraits by Diego Velázquez|Sebastián de Morra]]
[[Category:Works about dwarfism]]
<references />
[[Category:Clowns in art]]

Portrait of Sebastián de Morra - Revision history

imported>Citation bot: Add: jstor, authors 1-1. Removed parameters. Some additions/deletions were parameter name changes. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by CorrectionsJackal | Category:Portraits of men | #UCB_Category 511/575