Portrait of the Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain

Executed in oil paint on canvas, the work is a preparatory sketch painted from life by Francisco Goya at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez during the summer of 1800. All the sketches in this series share a defining technical feature: a reddish ground preparation, with the facial features and principal masses initially constructed in a single tone before planes and proportions were defined and color nuances added.

Goya demonstrates a mastery of loose, vibrant brushwork laid over this reddish priming. The sitter is rendered bust-length, wearing a high-collared shirt, lace jabot, and brown casaque, with the red sash of the Order of the Golden Fleece and the ribbons of the Order of Charles III and the Order of Saint Januarius. The brushwork captures both physical traits, dark eyes, a small nose, a thin upper lip above a fuller lower one, and a lively, sincere psychological presence, qualities that would be softened and idealized in the final family portrait.

Portrait of the Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain was painted by Francisco Goya in 1800 as a preparatory sketch for La Familia de Carlos IV. It was created during the summer of 1800 at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, commissioned by Queen María Luisa de Bourbon-Parma to allow each royal family member to be portrait separately, avoiding prolonged group sittings. The work entered the Royal Palace of Madrid collection in 1814 and was incorporated into the Museo del Prado before 1834, appearing in the museum's 1834 royal inventory and later in the first official Prado catalogue in 1872.

The painting is executed in oil on canvas with a red underpainting and single-tone facial modeling, featuring the infant wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece, Order of Charles III, and Order of Saint Januarius. Technical analysis notes characteristic brushwork with loose, vibrant strokes over a reddish preparation. Subsequent changes in the final version resulted in a more diffuse image and frozen facial expression compared to the sketch's lively characterization.

Portrait of the Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain is held in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, where it is listed under inventory number P00968. It entered the museum before 1834 and was first recorded in the institution’s official catalogue in 1872. The work was painted by Francisco Goya in 1800 as a preparatory sketch for La Familia de Charles IV and was originally part of the royal collection, having been located in the Royal Palace of Madrid in 1814.

The work was created in the summer of 1800 at Aranjuez Palace as one of ten life studies Goya painted for a larger composition, commissioned by Queen María Luisa of Parma, allowing each royal family member to be posed separately rather than all together for extended sessions The painting shows the infant wearing the red Toisón de Oro collar, the ribbon of the Order of Charles III, and the Order of Saint Januarius, symbols of his religious and traditionalist identity that positioned him as the first Carlist claimant to the Spanish throne after Ferdinand VII's death Technically, the piece exemplifies Goya's preparatory method: a red underpainting, facial features rendered in a single tonal block, and loose, vibrant brushwork applied over a reddish ground before subtle color nuances are added Scholarship emphasizes its exceptional quality in capturing both physical and psychological traits, dark eyes, a small nose, and a thin upper lip paired with a fuller lower lip, while distinguishing the lively, sincere character of this study from the more diffused and frozen facial expression of the final portrait, which reflects the infant's complex relationship with his brother Ferdinand The composition thus functions as a persuasive, non-idealized study that anticipates the definitive work's altered psychological depth and compositional diffusion

Francisco Goya executed this oil portrait in 1800, presenting the Spanish Infante Carlos María Isidro. The work measures a modest size and is part of the Museo del Prado’s permanent collection. It captures the young prince in a formal pose, his gaze directed outward, set against a flat orange field that isolates the figure from any surrounding narrative.