Portrait of Cardinal Gaspar de Borja y Velasco, 1643 – 1645

About the Work

The dark eyes seem to be sizing up the viewer. The high forehead under the cardinal's hat, the sunken cheeks and the pallid skin and grey beard betray the advanced age of this man of the church. His neck disappears into the severe raised collar of the alb and mozzetta, whose thick folds almost conceal the outlines of his body. This unattractive portrait shows the aristocratic Spanish priest Gaspar de Borja y Velsaco, who had been appointed a cardinal at the age of only thirty-one and who had energetically represented the interests of his country within the Curia. After he had been called back from Rome, his portrait was painted by the royal court painter Velázquez on a number of occasions. The Frankfurt painting is one of several versions and can be ascribed either to an assistant or to the master himself.