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Boletín del Museo del Prado

Female dress as the interpretative key to The Family of Charles IV by Francisco de Goya

Boletín del Museo del Prado
Boletín

Boletín del Museo del Prado Issue 41

2025 | ISSUE 41 | PAGE 112

Author

Javier Gimeno Martínez (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1275-0750

Keywords

Apuleius, Francisco de Goya, Journal des Dames et des Modes, Juan de Mal Lara, Psyche, fashion prints

RESUMEN

The Family of Charles IV has been interpreted as a group portrait with a metaphorical content, although clear conclusions about its meaning have not been reached. The identification of the female attire as a dress “à la demi-Psyché”, referencing the character Psyche, suggests that the painting’s subject could be a defense of conjugal love and of queens as both mothers and rulers. The painting would thus allude to Enlightenment reflections on the reconciliation of the public and private roles of women in general and queens in particular.

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