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Reference number
P00793
Author
Goya y Lucientes, Francisco de (Spanish)
Title
The Flower Girls, or Spring
Chronology
1786-1787
Technique
Support
Measures
277 cm x 192 cm
School
Theme
Shown
Yes
Entrance
INVENTARIO TAPICES
Procedence
Real Patrimonio, 1870

A young woman holding a girl by the hand receives a rose from another who kneels down to appreciate some flowers. A male figure behind them attempts to surprise the first woman with a baby rabbit he holds in his hand. The background of mountains visible behind them is very frequent in Goya's genre scenes.

For this allegory of spring, the painter eschews the customary representations of the goddess, Flora, used by many earlier painters. Instead, he combines real figures with that season's traditional attributes, such as flowers and hares.

The elegant posture of the young woman kneeling in the foreground echoes Las Meninas (P1174) by Velasquez, whose influence is present in Goya's work.

This is one of the cartoons for tapestries intended for the Prince of Asturias' dining room at the El Pardo Palace.

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