Francisco de Goya
piece 1
The affection, it seems, was mutual. Goya’s portrait of Don Pedro is surprisingly intimate. Seen in three-quarter view, the Duque stands against a plain, blue-black background, devoid of the usually courtly trappings of wealth or distinction. His body forms a triangle that presses resolutely upward: a man at the height of his powers. This formidable profile is anchored by his hands. One clutches the top of a walking stick; the other holds a piece of paper inscribed with his name and Goya’s, as if they were pen pals.
about the artist
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and throughout his long career was a commentator and chronicler of his era.
piece 2
This cartoon, the pair to The Washerwomen (P-786), depicts three women and four elegantly dressed children with their dog on a country outing. Goya masterfully utilizes the figures in different planes to establish relations between foreground and background, with the shepherds´ glances answered by the woman whose back is to the viewer. The peaceful everyday country scene thus becomes a representation of a date between the nurses and their suitors. This was a tapestry cartoons for the antechamber to the Prince and Princess of Asturias´ bedroom at the El Pardo Palace.