Sobre una tosca mesa de madera, descrita táctilmente con los pequeños detalles de la calidad del material, visibles en nudos y muescas, aparecen desordenadamente situadas unas cuantas “peritas de San Juan” y un pan en segundo término, junto al cual se eleva una alcarraza de loza muy blanca que bien pudiera ser andaluza. Se denomina popularmente “jarra de cuatro picos” y muestra una decoración de i
The scene, with a distinctly genre flavour, depicts a passage from Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616). The main figure, wearing armour, kneels awaiting to be dubbed a knight; the amusing folk setting around him is far removed from the ceremonial splendour implied by such an event.
A circle of ten Majos and Majas play blind man´s buff on the banks of what may be the Manzanares River. This work is the only sketch for the cartoon Goya painted for a series of playful and gay tapestries intended for the bedroom of the Infantas —the daughters of the future Carlos IV (1748-1819) and María Luisa de Parma (1751-1818)— at Madrid´s El Pardo Palace. Originally titled
This highly original still life presents various oysters in the fore and middle grounds—a relatively infrequent element in Meléndez’s paintings. The foreground is completed by some cloves of garlic and a decorated ceramic plate, probably from Talavera. Behind them, the powerful volume of an enormous copper pot vies for the leading role in this composition. It is tilted, as one edge rests on
This work belongs to the so-called peasant interiors, one of the new genres of painting that emerged and developed in Flanders and Holland in the early seventeenth century. In Houbraken and in early inventories they are described as een boertje (a little peasant) or as toeback rookerchen (tobacco smokers). The consolidation and appreciation of this genre was fostered by the satirical and moralisin
Hunting subjects are rare in Meléndez's work. Here, two multicolored partridges are the composition's main theme. Alongside them, in the foreground, are two cloves of garlic, some paper packages and the onions. In the middle ground, two Alcorcón-style earthenware bowls hold three crockery plates with poppy decorations, probably from Talavera or Puente del Arzobispo. The painter's customary method
Forma parte de la serie de bodegones reunidos por el futuro Carlos IV de España y María Luisa de Borbón-Parma cuando aún eran príncipes de Asturias, para su Gabinete de Historia Natural del Palacio Real de Madrid. La documentación no llega a ponerse de acuerdo en la cantidad de obras realizadas por Meléndez para esta serie, barajándose un número entre treinta y siete y cuarenta y cinco pinturas. E
The inscription, February, indicates that this still life belongs to a series on the twelve months of the year, of which at least five others have been located. Each depicts foodstuffs, floral elements or landscapes from its corresponding month. Here, hunting game is the predominant theme, especially birds, and there is also an interesting allusion to chocolate. While the latter was drunk for most
A group of youths play in the countryside. The gay circle consists mainly of persons dressed as majos and majas, the popular clothing that also became stylish among the aristocracy. There are also two figures wearing elegant velvet dress coats and feathered hats, in the French style. Originally titled “The ladle game” because of the wooden spoon the blindfolded youth uses to find his &
En primer término unos arenques ahumados ofrecen sus irregulares superficies junto a unas cebolletas de pulido contorno; al lado de ellos un pan abombado aporta su nota clara y maciza. En segundo plano se ve una jarra o puchero, panzudo, de alfarería, típico del siglo XVIII, cubierto con una tejoleta (fragmento) de plato talaverano o de Puente del Arzobispo, con la decoración llamada de “rosilla”
This superb example of the artist's virtuosity at capturing elements with a direct and realistic language can be considered a work from late in his career. A sole lemon in the foreground offsets the group of elements consisting of a slice of fresh salmon and various cooking utensils, including a copper vessel, a pot of the same material and an Alcorcón style jug with a bit of crockery as a lid. A
A preparatory drawing for the etching, Capricho 50. The Chinchillas (G02138). The group of twenty-six pen drawings that constitute the basis for The Caprichos in its initial phase, make up the Dreams series. Beginning with Dream 1, The Author Dreaming, they draw on a customary 18th-century subject. The plate mark indicates that this drawing was transferred, but no proof is known, and the handwritt
Bordeaux Sketchbook [H], sheet 63. Filling the pictorial space with his huge bulk, the monk barely fits into his chair as he eats from a wash basin, using a spoon and fork to avidly swallow the broth and stab the pieces of meat. All his attention is focused on the food, and his wide-open mouth signifies Gluttony, one of the Seven Deadly Sins that he has undoubtedly damned from the pulpit. Goya use