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Born in 1784 in El Escorial, Fernando VII was Carlos IV eldest son by Maria Luisa. In 1815, after abolishing the Constitution, he reined as an absolute monarch. He appears wearing the symbols of his royal condition, with a purple, ermine-lined robe, and a scepter with the coat of arms of Castile and Leon in his right hand. The sash of the Order of Carlos III crosses his chest, and he also bears th
Several portraits of Ferdinand VII are attributed to Goya, though only a few have sufficient quality to be considered fully his own work. Furthermore, there is no accurate documentation of the portraits of a monarch who chose Vicente López to be the official portraitist over Goya. It is, however, clearly documented that Goya, as first court painter, did an equestrian portrait that was one o
Upon the death of Charles III, Goya was asked to paint portraits of the new monarchs, Charles Bourbon IV and his wife, María Luisa of Parma. As a recently named Royal Painter, the artist was responsible for supplying portraits of the Royal Family; aided by several painters in his workshop, he was required to fulfill the commissions of numerous different institutions and private citizens thr
A portrait of King Carlos IV (1784-1819) wearing red velvet and decorated with the Golden Fleece, on a background of curtains that partially hide a crown at the right edge of the composition. This work may have been made shortly after the Monarch took the throne, as he still wears the sash of Carlos III (1716-1788), whose design was specified on 24 October 1772. Its combination of colors was modif
Goya never actually painted the cartoon for this scene, which is one of his masterpieces, and the most popular of a series intended for the bedroom of the infantas in Madrid's El Pardo Palace. The project was suspended following the death of Carlos III. Here, the painter manages to capture the sensation of life and the hustle and bustle of a crowd sitting in the meadow. The landscape opens onto th
A portrait of King Charles III (1716-1788), son of Philip V and Elizabeth of Farnesio, shortly before he died in Madrid on December 14, 1788. The king appears in a royal hunting preserve, either around El Escorial, or between the El Pardo Palace and the mountains of Madrid. He is dressed as a hunter, with the sashes of the Orders of Carlos III, Saint Januarius and the Holy Ghost, as well as the Go
This is a preparatory sketch for The Family of Charles IV. Son of Ferdinand, Duke of Parma, and the Archduchess Maria Amalia of Lorraine, the sitter was born in Piacenza in 1773. In 1795 he married the Spanish Infanta María Luisa Josefina. Proclaimed first King of Etruria by Napoleon in 1801, he died in Florence in 1803. Goya brilliantly defines the texture and movement of the hair, paintin
In this full-length portrait, King Carlos IV (1748-1819) wears a red frock coat adorned with silver and carries a ruler´s staff. His decorations include the Golden Fleece and the sash of the order of Carlos III. The Royal crown rests on an ermine-lined purple robe on the table to his side. This painting is paired with Goya´s portrait of Queen María Luisa in a Dress with hooped (
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 &
An equestrian portrait of the Spanish monarch wearing the uniform of a colonel of the Guardia de Corps, with other insignias, such as the Sash of the Order of Carlos III, that of Saint Genaro and the Golden Fleece. This painting was made as a pair to the equestrian portrait of his wife, Queen Maria Luisa de Parma (1751-1818), which is also at the Prado Museum (P720). The composition reveals Velasq
This is a preparatory sketch for The Family of Charles IV. Son of Charles IV and María Luisa, the sitter was born in 1788. In 1816 he married María Francisca of Portugal, daughter of his sister Carlota Joaquina. Second in line to the throne, on the death of Ferdinand VII in 1833 he pursued his claim against his niece Isabel II, resulting in the Carlist wars. He died in exile in Tries
This portrait of the family of King Carlos IV (1748-1819) was painted in Aranjuez and Madrid in the spring and summer of 1800, shortly after Goya was named First Chamber Painter. It clearly show´s the artist´s mastery at individualizing characters. The forerunners to this complex composition are Louis-Michel van Loo´s Portrait of Felipe V and his Family (P02283) and Velázquez´s Las Meninas
