Juan Carreño de Miranda: Portrait of king Charles II of Spain (1680)

(Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain)

A painting by the Spanish artist Juan Carreño de Miranda (1614-1685). King Charles II of Spain (1661 – 1700) was the son of king Philip IV of Spain and his second wife, Mariana of Austria. Charles II is best remembered for his physical disabilities, and the war for his throne (the war of the Spanish Succession) that followed his death. The disabilities of Charles II was a result of frequent intermarriage within the Habsburg family: his father and mother for example were uncle and niece. According to contemporaries, his health was described as "short, lame, epileptic, senile and completely bald before 35, always on the verge of death but repeatedly baffling Christendom by continuing to live." He spoke and ate only with difficulty and did not learn to talk until the age of four or walk until eight. As a result of his physical disabilities, power was was often exercised by others who frequently fought amongst each other for more control. Charles married two times but was unable to produce any children. After his death, was broke out over the succession between France, Spain, The Holy Roman empire, Britain and The Netherlands. In the end it was decided that Philip of Anjou, grandson of king Louis XIV of France and Charles's half-sister Maria Theresa would succeed to the Spanish throne as with Philip as the first member of the French House of Bourbon on the Spanish throne. Painting from 1680.