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The model in this portraiture is Don Sebastien Marie Gabriel (1811-1875), great-grandson of the Spanish King Carlos III (reigned 1759-1788). The boy’s father, Don Pedro, married the Infanta Maria Teresa of Portugal and got only son in 1811 who was the last child descended from both families of Spanish Bourbon and Portuguese Braganza. Based on his presumption that the model looks around five years old, José Gudiol claims that this portrait was created sometime in 1815 or 1816, but the model actually looks a little older. However, if the portrait were commissioned by the royal court of Madrid, the year of the creation should not have been 1820 or later. That’s because the relationship of Goya and the royal family already ended in or before 1819. Moreover, José Gudiol speculates that this model is wearing the uniform of the Spanish Royal Guard which was adopted in 1814 or later years. Thus, the year that this painting was created can be narrowed down to the period from 1815 at the earliest to around 1820 at the latest, and it is natural to assume that it was created in the last few years when Goya served in the Spanish royal court as a painter. After growing up, this prince became known as a highly educated person. He was an important member of the academy, connoisseur of figurative arts, music lover and famous physicist. He was also known for the collection of many works of fine art.  The boy in the picture appears to be pointing his right hand to the scenery behind him. Some scholars assume that the boy is pointing the road leading to San Ildefonso near Segovia, overlooked by the towering Sierra de Guadarrama and the Royal Palace of La Granja, but the model had little relationship with this region. On the other hand, along the route from Castilla la Vieja (or Old Castile) to Aragon, the mountains in Tardienta and the theater of operations of the Spanish resistance under the occupation of Napoleon can be seen. If the painting depicted this region, the patriotic intention of the painter can be imagined from it. José Gudiol confirmed that this painting was made with the approach Goya always employed when he portrayed a child: That is, as opposed to the “powerfulness” displayed by the accouterments, he sought the “naiveness” to represent the model’s face and clothes. The accessories and tools are depicted vividly and minutely while the human body and clothes are treated with a simple technique. Such a contrasting method that he employed can also be seen in the depiction of the background. The solid naturalism of the foreground and the buoyant gracefulness of the background create a superb contrast. This work, painted with the distinctive painting method of Goya’s art, represents a typical example of the “portraits of an affable and noble child” created by the master of court portraits.