On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P00801
- Author
- Goya y Lucientes, Francisco de (Spanish)
- Title
- Stilts
- Chronology
- 1791-1792
- Technique
- Óleo
- Support
- Lienzo
- Measures
- 268 cm x 320 cm
- School
- Española
- Theme
- Género y sociedad
- On display
- Yes
- Procedence
- Pintado a fines de 1791 o principios de 1792. Entregado en fecha indeterminada de 1792 a la Real Fábrica de Tapices de Santa Bárbara, Madrid. Transferido entre 1856-1857 desde la Fábrica de Tapices al Palacio Real, Madrid (sótanos del oficio de tapicería). Ingresó en el Prado por reales órdenes de 18.1 y 9.2. de 1870.
Two young men on high stilts head toward a window out of which a young woman leans. They are accompanied by two other young men on foot, playing the dulzaina. Groups of men wrapped in their capes and with broad-brimmed hats completely covering their faces, as well as women and children, contemplate the festive scene.
As in many other works from this period, a straightforward, everyday subject contrasts with a deeper theme. Here, the stiltwalkers' effort to avoid falling and their gallantry with the lady in the window are a means of denouncing the struggle to survive that period's difficult social conditions.
This cartoon was for one of the tapestries intended for Carlos IV's office at El Escorial.
















