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Saint Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) wears a Franciscan habit and meditates before a book over which the Christ Child appears. This is one of the miracles of that saint´s tradition. The spray of lilies in the foreground is one of his iconographical symbols, and is accompanied here by the basket that symbolizes the alms on which that saint lived. This work was designed for an altar in the church of S
This exquisitely refined female portrait is imbued with the profound sense of poetry characteristic of the artist’s late works. Dressed in a classical style gown, she is set against a background of clouds and evening light, creating a nostalgic, pre-Romantic mood. Daughter of Sir William Stephenson, in 1766 the sitter married John Sawbridge of Olantigh, a Kentish landowner and Lord Mayor of London
Two Eastern merchants go over their accounts, leaning over a table illuminated by light flooding through a window on the left of the composition. Under their plank table are two full sacks. Two women read a book in the background and in the foreground is a bird, the traditional symbol of trust and loyalty in commercial relations. This work was commissioned by Manuel Godoy (1767-1851), prince of Pe
Francisco Javier (1757-1771), youngest son of Charles III and Maria Amalia of Saxony, was painted by Mengs in the Palace of San Ildefonso, Segovia, as were his brothers, Antonio and Gabriel. The pose and expression are particularly natural and the traditional accessories of royal portraiture are reduced to the column, curtain and insignias of the Orders of the Golden Fleece, Santiago and San Genna
Maria Josefa (1751-1767) was the daughter of the Emperor Francis I and his wife Maria Teresa. She was first betrothed to Ferdinand IV of Naples but she died young and was consequently replaced in this dynastic union by her sister Maria Carolina.
This is a fragment of Saint Joseph with the infant Christ, painted for the convent church of San Pascual in Aranjuez, and now in Detroit. Although Giambattista required the help of his son Domenico to undertake the project, this small angel seems to be entirely painted by his own hand.
Painted in Seville in 1619, The Adoration of the Magi is the largest of Velázquez`s early works and, together with Saint Ildefonso receiving the Chasuble, the one with the most figures, making it one of the artist`s most ambitious compositions to date in his career. Both the above characteristics suggests that it was painted for a religious interior, very probably one associated with the Je
Saint Barbara was a third-century Christian martyr imprisoned in a tower and later decapitated by her father, Dioscoro, as punishment for not wanting to marry and refusing to profess paganism. Goya depicts the saint with her various symbols, with a monstrance in her right hand and the palm frond of martyrdom in the left. She wears a crown as she was a princess. The tower is behind her, and a repre
This majestic image was part of a cycle of seven altarpieces commissioned in 1767 for the new royal church of San Pascual Bailón at Aranjuez, founded by Charles III in the same year. The altarpieces comprised the entire pictorial decoration of this Alcantarine Franciscan church, which was built in an austere classical style. The subjects of the altarpieces reflected some of the most importa
Sánchez worked at the Madrid court and was commissioned to paint several views of the regions of Spain, with particular emphasis on ports, during the reign of Charles III. This painting belongs to a long series of panoramic views by the artist, infused with a flavour that is more topographical than artistic. The bridge at Molins de Rey (Barcelona) was built between 1763 and 1767 and was dem
An equestrian portrait of Queen Maria Luisa of Parma (1751-1818), the wife of King Carlos IV (1748-1819), wearing the uniform of a colonel of the Guardia de Corp. This painting was made as a pair to the equestrian portrait of the King, which is also at the Prado Museum (P00719). Goya admirably emphasizes the Queen´s strong personality. She mounts “Marcial,” a horse given her by Manuel Godoy (1767-
A depiction of a miracle in the life of Saint Francis of Assisi that took place in 1224 during the Celebration in Praise of the Holy Cross. When the saint withdrew to pray, he received the stigmata from a seraph: the same wounds suffered by Christ on the Cross. An angel holds him so that his body doesn´t collapse in ecstasy. The varied blue tones and their contrast with the very dark palette used
Court Painter, Director of the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid and a key artistic figure in the period, Bayeu was Goya’s brother-inlaw and their relations were at times extremely tense. This portrait, which was commissioned by Bayeu’s daughter for display at the Academy after the artist’s death in August 1795, is based on a selfportrait, now in a private collection.Goya emphasises Bayeu’s dry a
Francisco Bayeu worked as a court painter to Charles III from 1767; by 1787 -the date of this small portrait- he had produced a considerable number of decorations for the royal palaces and important churches. He reached the zenith of his brilliant career as an official painter and academician around this time, being named Director of Painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in 17
This allegory accompanied others of Science (now lost), Commerce and Industry which decorated the staircase of Manuel Godoy´s palace. Ceres, goddess of Agriculture, is crowned with ears of corn. She is accompanied by a countryman, possibly her assistant Messor who was in charge of the harvest. Ceres made all vegetation grow: the hoes at her feet refer to the start of the crop cycle while the zodia
Two young women spin at their wheels in the workshop of a tapestry factory, recalling Velasquez´s Tapestry Weavers (P01173). Goya interprets the scene as an allegory of Industry, in which young women work with enthusiasm and energy. The shadowy old women in the background may be the Fates of Classical Mythology, who weave and cut the threads of life. This work was commissioned by Manuel Godo
Mengs depicted the Infante Antonio (1755-1817), son of Charles III and Maria Amalia of Saxony, in the Palace of San Ildefonso, Segovia. The artist made use of the type of elegant, natural portrait that he had developed in Rome to depict English visitors. The Infante wears the insignias of the Orders of the Golden Fleece and of San Gennaro and Santiago.
