Perejon, the Buffoon of the Count of Benavente and of the Grand Duke of AlbaCa. 1560. Oil on canvas, 184.5 x 93.5 cm.
The doubts that existed regarding the dating of this work were increased when the sitter was identified. He is documented from 1544 in the accounts of Prince Philip (later Philip II) as Pero Hernández de la Cruz, known as Perejón, one of the two ‘Pericos’ whose role at Court was to amuse the prince. The inventory of the Alcázar in Madrid of 1636 confirms this identification through a reference to his physical defect: ‘another full-length portrait of Perejon, a fool with a wasted arm, dressed in the old fashioned style’. Given his early relationship with Prince Philip, it is possible that Mor painted Perejón on his first trip to Spain in 1552, although it is more likely that he did so during his second visit between 1559 and 1561.The artist depicts ‘Pejerón’ [sic]4 full-length, life-size and in three-quarter profile, standing before a dark background with no spatial references, a format subsequently adopted by Velázquez in Pablo de Valladolid.The fact that he occupies all the available foreground space –his right foot almost touching the lower edge of the canvas – makes it difficult to appreciate his actual size. Only the large head, short legs and deformed right hand holding the pack of cards indicate his occupation, ‘the profession of jests’.With his characteristic objectivity and painstaking technique, Mor depicts ‘Pejerón’ dressed as a courtier with a black doublet and cap, white breeches and hose, slashed shoes and a sword at his waist.The painting belonged to Philip II. In 1600, after his death, it was recorded in the Casa del Tesoro in the Alcázar in Madrid. From that time onwards it remained in the Royal Collection until it entered the Museo del Prado in 1854. Pero Hernández de la Cruz, Perejón, a servant of the Count of Benavente, enjoyed the favour of the future Philip II, taking part in many of the festivities organised by him and receiving suits of clothes and costly gifts from as early as 1544. Married and with children, Perejón owned a number of houses in Benavente from where Prince Philip – en route to England to marry Mary Tudor – and his son Don Carlos saw five bulls in the ring in 1554 and attended the baptism of Perejón’s son, whose godfather was the Duke of Alba. (Silva Maroto, P. en: El retrato del Renacimiento, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2008, p. 493)