When Velázquez was appointed court painter in Madrid, his principal task was to paint portraits of Philip IV, a duty that he performed to perfection. The portraits of the Spanish Habsburgs painted in profusion by Velázquez are among the finest and best examples of court portraiture in the history of European art. Velázquez's earliest contribution to the decoration of the Buen Retiro is the luminous St Anthony Abbot and St Paul the Hermit, his first picture with an extensive landscape background.

Philip IV was a bold and enthusiastic huntsman. It was the task of Velázquez to execute a series of hunting portraits to hang in the Torre de la Parada, the king's hunting lodge. The three extant hunting portraits by Velázquez, Philip IV as a Huntsman, Prince Baltasar Carlos as a Hunter, and Cardinal Infante Don Fernando as a Hunter, are life-size. This project cost Velázquez a great deal of time and trouble, but it also won him increasing appreciation at court.

Preview	Picture Data	Info
	Doña Antonia de Ipeñarrieta y Galdós and her Son Luis c. 1631 Oil on canvas, 215 x 100 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid
	Philip IV in Brown and Silver 1631-32 Oil on canvas, 200 x 113 cm National Gallery, London
	Queen Isabel, Standing 1631-32 Oil on canvas, 207 x 119 cm Private collection
	Prince Baltasar Carlos with a Dwarf 1631 Oil on canvas, 128 x 102 cm Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
	Prince Baltasar Carlos with a Dwarf (detail) 1631 Oil on canvas Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
	Sibyl c. 1632 Oil on canvas, 62 x 50 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid
	Christ on the Cross 1632 Oil on canvas, 248 x 169 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid
	Portrait of a Lady 1633 Oil on canvas, 123 x 99 cm Staatliche Museen, Berlin
	The Jester Known as Don Juan de Austria 1632-35 Oil on canvas, 210 x 123 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid
	Cardinal Infante Don Fernando as a Hunter 1632-33 Oil on canvas, 192 x 108 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid
	King Philip IV as a Huntsman 1634-35 Oil on canvas, 191 x 126 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid
	Prince Baltasar Carlos as a Hunter 1635-36 Oil on canvas, 191 x 103 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid
	Prince Baltasar Carlos as Hunter (detail) 1635-36 Oil on canvas Museo del Prado, Madrid
	St Anthony Abbot and St Paul the Hermit c. 1635 Oil on canvas, 260 x 192 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid
	St Anthony Abbot and St Paul the Hermit (detail) c. 1635 Oil on canvas Museo del Prado, Madrid
	Juan Martinez Montañés c. 1635 Oil on canvas, 109 x 88 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid
	Juan Mateos c. 1634 Oil on 109 x 90 cm Gemäldegalerie, Dresden
	Portrait of a Knight of the Order of Santiago c. 1635 Oil on canvas, 67 x 56 cm Gemäldegalerie, Dresden