Portrait of Mariana of Austria is a 1652 or 1653 oil-on-canvas painting by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age. Its subject, Dona Mariana (known as Maria Anna), was the daughter of Emperor Ferdinand III and Maria Anna of Spain, and was nineteen years old when the painting was completed. Although vivacious and fun-loving in life, she is given an unhappy expression in Velázquez's portrait. The painting is bathed in harmonious shades of black and red, and her face is heavily made up. Her right hand rests on the back of a chair, and she holds a lace handkerchief in her left hand. Her bodice is decorated with jewellery, including a gold necklace, bracelets and a large gold brooch. The clock placed on the scarlet drapery behind her indicates her status. Three full-length versions of the portrait survive, as well as a number of half-length variants. The version in the Museo del Prado (detail pictured) is known to be the original and is dated on the basis of a matching description of a canvas sent to Ferdinand in Vienna in December 1651.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Mariana_of_Austria
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1618:
English courtier and explorer Sir Walter Raleigh was executed in London after King James I reinstated a fifteen-year-old death sentence against him. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Raleigh
1948:
Arab–Israeli War: As the Israel Defense Forces captured the Palestinian Arab village of Safsaf, they massacred at least 52 villagers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safsaf_massacre
1960:
A C-46 airliner carrying the Cal Poly Mustangs football team crashed during takeoff from Toledo Express Airport in Ohio, U.S., resulting in 22 deaths. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Polytechnic_State_University_football_team_plane_crash
2013:
The first phase of the Marmaray project (train pictured) opened with an undersea rail tunnel across the Bosphorus strait. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmaray
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
signage: 1. (uncountable) Signs, particularly those imparting commercial, directional, or road traffic information, taken collectively. 2. (countable, chiefly India, elsewhere regarded as nonstandard) A sign, a signboard. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/signage
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
A wise man ought not to desire to inhabit that country where men have more authority than laws. --Walter Raleigh https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_Raleigh