location the jester don diego de acedo
Philip IV of ___MASK25___ ( 8 April 1605  17 September 1665 ) was King of ___MASK25___ ( as " Philip IV " in Castille and " Philip III " in Aragon ) and Portugal as Philip III . He ascended the thrones in 1621 and reigned in ___MASK25___ until his death and in Portugal until 1640 . Philip is remembered for his patronage of the arts , including such artists as Diego Velázquez , and his rule over ___MASK25___ during the challenging period of the Thirty Years ' War . The Thirty Years ' War was a series of wars in ___MASK9___ between 1618 and 1648 . It was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history , as well as the deadliest European religious war , resulting in eight million casualties . Initially a war between various Protestant and Catholic states in the fragmented Holy Roman Empire , it gradually developed into a more general conflict involving most of the great powers . These states employed relatively large mercenary armies , and the war became less about religion and more of a continuation of the France  Habsburg rivalry for European political pre - eminence . In the 17th century , religious beliefs and practices were a much larger influence on an average European than they are today . During that era , almost everyone was vested on one side of the dispute or another , which was also closely tied to people ' s ethnicities and loyalties , as religious beliefs affected ideas of the legitimacy of the political status of rulers . The Baroque ( or ) is often thought of as a period of artistic style that used exaggerated motion and clear , easily interpreted detail to produce ___MASK32___ , tension , exuberance , and grandeur in sculpture , painting , architecture , literature , dance , theater , and music . The style began around 1600 in ___MASK40___ and Italy , and spread to most of Europe . Las Meninas ( Spanish for The Ladies - in - Waiting ) is a 1656 painting in the ___MASK36___ in Madrid , by Diego Velázquez , the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age . Its complex and enigmatic composition raises questions about reality and illusion , and creates an uncertain relationship between the viewer and the figures depicted . Because of these complexities , " Las Meninas " has been one of the most widely analyzed works in Western painting . Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (; baptized on June 6 , 1599August 6 , 1660 ) was a Spanish painter , the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV , and one of the most important painters of the Spanish Golden Age . He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period , important as a portrait artist . In addition to numerous renditions of scenes of historical and cultural significance , he painted scores of portraits of the Spanish royal family , other notable European figures , and commoners , culminating in the production of his masterpiece " Las Meninas " ( 1656 ). The Jester Don Diego de Acedo is one of a series of portraits of jesters at the court of Philip IV of ___MASK25___ by Diego Velázquez . Its subject is the dwarf Don Diego de Acedo , known as `` el Primo '' ( the Cousin ) . The 1645 oil painting is currently housed at the Prado Museum . The work measures 106 cm high and 83 cm wide . Velázquez painted a series of portraits of dwarfs and jesters of the court of Philip IV , depicted with realism and respect . The portraits were intended to be displayed in the king ' s hunting lodge , the Torre de la Parada . Don Diego de Acedo was a figure of fun whose physical deformity provided entertainment for the court . As with another subject , Portrait of Sebastián de Morra , Velázquez pictured de Acedo ' s whole body seated on the ground . Don Diego de Acedo is pictured looking at the observer . Dressed in black , he is reading a book , which is the traditional representation of a gentleman . The size of the tome in his lap emphasizes the dwarf ' s smallness . The eyes , high forehead and attitude of the model conveys a sense of his intelligence . At his feet lay a pile of books with an inkwell and feather . The bottom is possibly unfinished , as a foggy landscape can be seen . The Spanish Golden Age (, " Golden Century ") is a period of flourishing in arts and literature in ___MASK25___ , coinciding with the political rise of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty . " El Siglo de Oro " does not imply precise dates and is usually considered to have lasted longer than an actual century . It begins no earlier than 1492 , with the end of the " Reconquista " ( Reconquest ), the sea voyages of Christopher Columbus to the New World , and the publication of Antonio de Nebrija ' s " Gramática de la lengua castellana " ( Grammar of the Castilian Language ). Politically , it ends no later than 1659 , with the Treaty of the ___MASK91___ , ratified between ___MASK16___ and Habsburg ___MASK25___ . The last great writer of the period , Pedro Calderón de la Barca , died in 1681 , and his death usually is considered the end of " El Siglo de Oro " in the arts and literature .