Goya - History Lab

José Moñino y Redondo, Count of Floridablanca

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:59 +0000

Portrait by Goya of one of the most important enlightened politicians of 18th-century Spain. Of humble origins, his key role in the expulsion and extinction of the Jesuits elevated him to the rank of Secretary of State under Charles III and Charles IV. He was an emblem of royalism and enlightened despostism, typical of Bourbon reformism. Goya portrayed him on several occasions.

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The family of Charles IV

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:03 +0000

The Family of Carlos IV belongs to a series of royal portraits begun by Goya in 1799, on the eve of Napoleon’s Consulate, which promised to pacify the tumultuous past decade. Goya placed the fourteen figures depicted in an austere interior without carpets, decorating only the back wall. The painting is based, as has often been claimed, on Las Meninas of 1656. The modifications made by the artist from Zaragoza differed from Velázquez’s details, such as the definition of space (none in this work) and the close relationship of Velázquez’s figures as opposed to the introspective depictions of arlos IV’s family. In the centre of the painting is the figure of the queen, dressed like the other infantas in a brilliant French-style dress, on which she wears the sash of the Royal Order of Noble Ladies founded by her in 1794. In addition, she imitates the Infanta’s posture, which several historians considered to be a satire on the Queen because of her advanced age. Emerging from the half-light, Ferdinand appears dressed in the blue of the principality of Asturias. His brother, Carlos María Isidro, holds him by the waist, a curious attitude that could be interpreted as a predisposition to succeed Ferdinand if necessary, and which seems to announce his intention in 1833 to claim the throne for his niece Isabella, a fact that would lead to the future Carlist Wars. The lady in lost profile represents Ferdinand’s future wife, thought to be Caroline of Saxe-Weimar, until in 1802 it was Maria Antonia of Naples. King Charles IV is depicted in full dress, with a golden fleece, and bands and badges of the order of Charles III, the Neapolitan order of San Gennaro and the four Spanish orders (Santiago, Montesa, Calatrava and Alcántara).

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The game of ball

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:26 +0000

Goya emphasised on the cardboard delivery invoice the large number of figures included, each occupying his exact position in the game (forward, centre-half and fullback), together with twenty-five other figures of different ages and attitudes. Pelota games, of French origin, spread throughout Spain with great success in the Basque Country, where even then every village had its own fronton. Goya depicted the specific moment of the game, when the ball, on the ground, has reached the chaza, the place where the ball stops before it reaches the winning line. The resulting tapestry hung in the dining room of the princes of Asturias (the future Charles IV and Maria Luisa of Parma).

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Boys playing soldiers

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:26 +0000

This tapestry cartoon by Goya shows children playing at being soldiers, marching with their rifles on their shoulders and beating a drum. The animation of the lead soldier, the martial air and the childlike, graceful pride with which he faces the spectator constitute one of the highest achievements in the depiction of childhood in Goya’s entire oeuvre. The resulting tapestry hung in the dining room of the Princes of Asturias (the future Charles IV and Maria Luisa of Parma).

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The 12th Marquise of Villafranca painting her husband

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:26 +0000

María Tomasa de Palafox, Marquise of Villafranca, received a careful education under the personal guidance of her mother, María Francisca de Sales Portocarreño, Countess of Montijo. The Countess was secretary for 18 years of the Junta de Damas de Honor y Mérito, an institution founded in 1775 within the framework of the Real Sociedad Económica Matritense, which was very actively involved in social reform programmes (such as the education of women and the improvement of women’s and inclusive prisons). María Tomasa continued her mother’s work and participated in the activities of the Sociedad Matritense, showing great interest in new pedagogical ideas and scientific development. Thus, they claimed women’s rights outside the discourse of excellence, which accepted equality as valid only for those women who were considered extraordinary for their qualities. However, the artistic, scientific and literary academies did not exclude women, but in practice, few were able to join them. The San Fernando Academy was one of the first to allow women to join, and in 1766 it had ten women painters and an honorary president, the Countess of Fuentes. The Academy frequently placed limits on women’s training in painting and they were not allowed to attend classes in life drawing or nudes, nor were they allowed to deviate from “feminine” subjects such as paintings of flowers or landscapes.

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The industry

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:26 +0000

In the 18th century, the enlightened project of the Bourbon Monarchy opened the doors of the guilds to women, eliminating the restrictions that had excluded them until then without incorporating new forms of production. From then on, the first public schools for girls from the lower classes were promoted, giving them an essential role in the tasks “proper to their sex” (those related to textiles). The textile workshops were spaces of sociability and mutual support for women who worked 12-14 hour days in less healthy hygienic conditions than the work suggests. Neither age nor health were clear limits to their involvement in the task of spinning linen, cotton, silk or wool, work that took place in factories in rural areas and, especially, in the domestic sphere. Some women became masters in trades linked to the textile industry, such as cordwainers or weavers, although this may be an exception.

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The kite

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:19 +0000

The image shows a scene of popular leisure and recreation. According to Goya, the main scene depicts a group of young people who “have gone out to the countryside to throw a kite”. In the foreground, a young man is sitting on the ground smoking, blowing smoke into the air. In the background, several couples are chatting and watching the kite fly, while the seated dog looks at the viewer. The building in the background has been interpreted as an astronomical observatory, a project that was continually discussed during the reign of Charles III. The tapestry resulting from this cartoon hung on the wall cloth between the windows of the dining room of the Princes of Asturias (the future Charles IV and his wife Maria Luisa de Parma) in the Palace of El Pardo.

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Card players

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:19 +0000

A group of majos, portrayed by Goya, are playing cards in a field in the shade of a cloak draped over the branches of a tree. One of them looks worriedly at his cards, as does another of his companions, as their gold coins have gone into the hat of his opponent, lying on the ground in front of them. Behind them, three knaves beckon their sidekick to indicate the cards held by the unsuspecting victims. The perfectly studied contrasts of light and shade emphasise the realism of this scene of deception, in which Goya paid careful attention to the faces and expressions of each of the figures. The resulting tapestry hung in the dining room of the Princes of Asturias (the future Charles IV and Maria Luisa of Parma)

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The blind man and the guitar

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:19 +0000

The motif of the work depicted by Francisco de Goya shows a blind man accompanied by his guide who sings simple couplets to the sound of the guitar. Dramatic and gruesome in character, its lyrics consisted of the plots of the so-called “coplas de ciego” (blind man’s couplets). Their singing aroused the interest of a varied audience, whose components expressed emotions ranging from the discipline of the elegant gentleman (a “foreigner”, as Goya described in the invoice for the cardboard to the Fábrica de Tapices), to the fascination of the black water carrier or the young woman and the young men of the village. The resulting tapestry hung in the dining room of the Princes of Asturias (the future Charles IV and Maria Luisa of Parma)

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The potter

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:19 +0000

The complex scene depicted by Goya reflects life in the city in an everyday street manner. A Valencian cacharrero (identified by his characteristic attire) distributes merchandise on the ground that he sells to two young girls and an old woman. In the background, a carriage rushes past, with an elegant lady inside, watched by two gentlemen seated with their backs to it. Beneath this aspect of a bustling market scene lies another of unfulfilled desires: the young men in front of the vendor long for the beautiful earthenware pots, a symbol of feminine fragility, while the gentlemen seated on the straw gaze at the aristocratic lady hurrying past in her carriage. The resulting tapestry hung in the dining room of the Princes of Asturias (the future Charles IV and Maria Luisa of Parma)

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