The canvas, attributed traditionally to Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo (1611-1664), was presented as his in exhibitions in Madrid, Brussels (1971), and London (1976). It is evident that its composition bears reminiscences of portraits by Velázquez, but it has an archaic touch in the standing pose with legs astride, common in portraits from the late 16^th century. However, the treatment of the right hand, with its fine and nervous fingers, suggests a date closer to 1650. It has been suggested that the author may have been Bartolomé González (1564-1627), Rodrigo de Villandrando (1588-1622) or Felipe Diricksen (1590-1679), although the first two can be ruled out because of the date. This painting, whose author remains unknown, is a portrait of great quality, and is currently identified as the work of an anonymous painter from Madrid.

Similarly to the portraits of Doña María de Vera y Gasca and of Don Juan González de Uzqueta —also in the BBVA Collection— this canvas comes from the Convento de las Carmelitas Descalzas in Boadilla del Monte, and they all depict members of the same family, which founded and then supported this institution.

At first, it was thought that the lady, who is depicted wearing the fashions of the 1670s, was the mother of the youth, but the age of the latter, who was sixteen years old (ETATIS SUAE 16 AÑOS) around the time the painting was made, which Pérez Sánchez dates between 1645-50, rules out this assumption. Moreover, María de Vera y Gasca did not have any children, which makes us consider that the youth portrayed could be Juan González de Uzqueta (1615-1670). Perhaps this portrait was made to commemorate his induction into the Order of Santiago, but it is also possible that the crosses were added at a later time. Either way, there is mention of Juan as a knight of the Order of Santiago in 1636, and Ismael Gutiérrez Pastor points out that the pose of the youth in the painting resembles the one used by Velázquez in the portraits of Prince Balthasar Charles from around 1640. He also notes that the piece could be the work of Bartolomé Román (1587-1647), the second master of Juan Carreño de Miranda, who had very close ties to the parents of the portrayed.

The

 golilla 

a white rigid

 Ruff 

initially used to refer to the fabric ruffle at the neck and collars of chemises in the sixteenth century, it eventually came to refer to the large ruff collars that became popular in the middle of that century.

collar in fashion in the 17^th century which framed the emphatic modelling of the face.

, a thin collar, in a style that retains echoes of tenebrism, was worn during the reign of Philip IV (1621-1640) and the beginning of the reign of Charles II (1661-1700), and is the fashion sported by the youth in the portrait. The cross of the Order of Santiago is embroidered on his sober black clothing and his short cape, made of the same material.