Jester Jester A jester, court jester, or fool, was historically an entertainer during the medieval and Renaissance eras who was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain him and his guests. A jester was also an itinerant performer who entertained common folk at fairs and markets. Jesters are also modern-day entertainers who resemble their historical counterparts. Jesters in medieval times are often thought to have worn brightly coloured clothes and eccentric hats in a motley pattern and their modern counterparts usually mimic this costume. Jesters entertained with a wide variety of skills: principal among
The Jester Barbarroja The Jester Barbarroja The Jester Barbarroja ("El bufón Barbarroja") is an oil on canvas portrait by Diego Velázquez of Cristóbal de Castañeda y Pernia, nicknamed Barbarroja in his role as a jester at the court of Philip IV of Spain from 1633 to 1649. The painting is now in the Museo del Prado. It was in the Palacio del Buen Retiro in Madrid in 1701 and from 1816 to 1827 it was in the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. The composition's subject also served Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria, for whom he played Barbarroja (Barbarossa) in comic plays.