Dwarfs, fools and jesters were present in large numbers at the Court of Philip IV. They were maintained by the King according to a tradition extending back well into the Middle Ages. Velázquez shows human nature in all its diversity when he presents the gallery of this strange class of society, with perfect honesty, never mocking or caricature them. Between 1636 and 1640 he painted the buffoons Pablo de Valladolid and Barbarroja, the dwarfs Calabacillas and Don Antonio el Inglés.

Velázquez demonstrates comparable briliance as a portraitist in imaginary subjects in the lively, amussing images of the philosopher Menippus and the classical author of animal fables, Aesop. These were painted at the end of the 1630s for the Torre de la Parada.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 9 minutes): Antonio Vivaldi: Sonata in D minor RV 62 op. 1 No. 12 (La Follia)

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	Prince Baltasar Carlos with the Count-Duke of Olivares at the Royal Mews c. 1636 Oil on canvas, 144 x 96,5 cm Collection of the Duke of Westminster, London	950*1426 True Color 166 Kb
	Prince Baltasar Carlos with the Count-Duke of Olivares at the Royal Mews (detail) c. 1636 Oil on canvas Collection of the Duke of Westminster, London	850*1061 True Color 166 Kb
	Prince Baltasar Carlos with the Count-Duke of Olivares at the Royal Mews (detail) c. 1636 Oil on canvas Collection of the Duke of Westminster, London	550*874 True Color 51 Kb
	The Buffoon Pablo de Valladolid 1636-37 Oil on canvas, 214 x 125 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid	712*1200 True Color 124 Kb
	The Dwarf Don Juan Calabazas, called Calabacillas 1637-39 Oil on canvas, 106 x 83 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid	820*1084 True Color 86 Kb
	The Buffoon Don Cristóbal de Castañeda y Pernia (Barbarroja) 1637-40 Oil on canvas, 200 x 121 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid	650*1098 True Color 66 Kb
	The Buffoon Don Cristóbal de Castañeda y Pernia (detail) 1637-40 Oil on canvas Museo del Prado, Madrid	750*936 True Color 139 Kb
	Court Dwarf Don Antonio el Inglés c. 1640-42 Oil on canvas, 142 x 107 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid	660*891 True Color 71 Kb
	Aesop 1639-41 Oil on canvas, 179 x 94 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid	650*1296 True Color 93 Kb
	Menippus 1639-41 Oil on canvas, 179 x 94 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid	650*1314 True Color 94 Kb
	The Needlewoman c. 1640 Oil on canvas, 74 x 60 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington	829*1027 True Color 144 Kb
	Don Baltasar Carlos c. 1640 Oil on canvas, 128,5 x 99 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	536*700 True Color 93 Kb
	Mars, God of War c. 1640 Oil on canvas, 179 x 95 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid	705*1400 True Color 114 Kb
	Self-Portrait c. 1640 Oil on canvas, 46 x 38 cm Museo de Bellas Artes, Valencia	700*843 True Color 59 Kb
	Lady with a Fan c. 1640 Oil on canvas, 95 x 70 cm Wallace Collection, London	904*1220 True Color 141 Kb