Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez: The Infanta Margarita Teresa in a blue gown, 1659

Margarita Teresa of Spain

* 1651, † 1673

Margarita Teresa, from the Spanish Habsburg line, was the first wife of her uncle, Leopold I. Their union had been planned since her childhood. In order to record the bride’s development, portraits of the infanta were sent to the Court at Vienna. The wedding festivities in 1666 included firework displays, operas and an equestrian ballet, and represented the zenith of Baroque culture at the Viennese Court. Margarita Teresa died at the age of only 21, shortly after the birth of her sixth child.

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez: The Infanta Margarita Teresa in a blue gown, 1659