# Portrait of the Jester Calabazas

**Diego Velázquez** (Spanish, 1599–1660)  
c. 1631–32  
oil on canvas  
Framed: 199.3 x 133.1 x 12.7 cm (78 7/16 x 52 3/8 x 5 in.); Unframed: 175 x 106 cm (68 7/8 x 41 3/4 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1965.15. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1965.15).

## About this work

Calabazas, a jester in the court of King Philip IV of Spain, had physical and mental disabilities, a state that the artist emphasizes, rather than tries to hide. While the Spanish court prized and doted upon people with disabilities such as Calabazas, Velázquez transformed their depiction in portraiture. This startling work uses the format of the formal, full-length court portrait to present a type of person who was generally perceived as marginal at this point in history and profoundly humanizes him.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Diego Velázquez painted this in about 1631–32, aged about 32. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Diego Velázquez](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/diego-velazquez)

Spanish, 1599–1660; born in Seville; died in Madrid

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Spain
- The artist was about 32
- Real size: about 69 × 42 in (175 × 106 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 18 × 24 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 17th century
- Colour: grey
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/657.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/657/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/portrait-of-the-jester-calabazas-cma-141549).