As pintor de cámara at the Court of Madrid Claudio Coello painted numerous portraits of the royal family. This picture is of Maria Anna, the mother of King Charles II of Spain. She is wearing the traditional dress of a widow of her rank. Born in Wiener Neustadt as the daughter of the later Emperor Ferdinand III of Austria and his wife Maria Anna of Spain, she was married to her uncle, Philip IV, while still a young girl. After her husband’s death she was Regent of Spain for a while.