VELÁZQUEZ, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y
(b. 1599, Sevilla, d. 1660, Madrid)

Head of a Stag

1626-27
Oil on canvas, 66,5 x 52,5 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid

It was quite usual for the king to ride out with a small retinue in the extensive game preserves of the densely wooded Pardo - Philip IV was a bold and enthusiastic huntsman, and he wanted his court painter to record the stags he had killed for posterity.