Portrait of Mariana de Austria as Queen Regent

Queen Mariana de Austria was betrothed to her uncle, Philip IV, when she was only fourteen. After the king's death, she was forced to assume the tasks of government until their son Charles came of age. Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo, court painter to the queen, depicts her wearing the typical attire used by aristocratic widows in seventeenth-century Spain. She sits in an armchair and receives correspondence, two elements commonly referring to kingship and government. Here, they indicate the Queen's leadership throughout her son's infancy, who can be seen in the background along with his caretakers.