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The allegories, The Hours of the Day, were painted in 1819 by José de Madrazo in Rome just before his return to Spain, to be used in the decoration of the small palace in Madrid known as Casino de la Reina. This country holding, considered one of “the most prized curiosities of Madrid”, was acquired in 1816 by the city government of Madrid as a gift for Queen María Isabel of Braganza
A woman and two children collect water from a stone fountain. The bare fields and leafless tree in the background relate this scene to Winter (P0798). Romantic critics gave this painting its name, although nothing in the figures´ clothing suggest poverty. The young mother´s shawl, red stockings and black shoes with silver buckles indicate that she is a wealthy peasant. She looks with sweet underst
Two cats, their fur standing up and their backs arched, spit and face off on top of a brick wall. This is one of the cartoons for the Prince and Princess of Asturias´ dining room in El Pardo. As its narrow horizontal format shows, it was designed to hang over a door, a position favored by the perspective the painter gave it. Goya offers a perfect analysis of the cats´ postures, which he represents
The Seasons are the second of the three types of four canvas sets produced by the Bassano bottega in the 1570s. Like the Noah and Elements series, they were extraordinarily successful and many replicas were made. Between 1580 and 1600 the inventories of the Venetian court of Giudici di petizioni cite five series of the Seasons and a further 35 of paesi e animali, and, although there is no mention
Dressed in yellow clothes that symbolize autumn, a young man sitting on a stone offers a cluster of black grapes to a lady. A boy is eager to reach the offered fruit, which is reserved for the adults. A woman stands next to them, holding a grape basket on her head, much like the classical allegory of the goddess Ceres with fruit on her head. Some grape harvesters are behind them, next to the grape
Two boys hold two large, muzzled mastiffs by their leads. On the collar of one dog is an incomplete inscription reading "DEL SoR", which may mean "I am in the Royal Service". The format of this cartoon suggests that the final tapestry would have hung over a door, forming a pair with Boy riding a Ram, the cartoon for which is in the Art Institute of Chicago.
An intense snowfall serves as Goya´s interpretation of winter, which is the subject of this composition. Along with this everyday representation, however, Goya introduces a social theme, as he often did in his tapestry cartoons. Three cloaked peasants return home after what appears to have been an unsuccessful attempt to buy a pig. They carry nothing and their gazes reveal that they are cold and h
A hunter rests beside a spring, his shotgun still on his lap. The figure´s solitude and his distracted gaze bring out the peace of life in Nature. The naturalism of the composition and its straightforward representation reveal Goya´s thoughts about the subject of life in the country. Like its companion, Shepherd playing the Dulzaina (P02895), this is a cartoon for a tapestry in the Pri
A musician, traditionally identified with a shepherd by his clothing, leans back onto a hillock in the landscape and plays his dulzaina, a traditional Spanish double-reed instrument. Like its companion, Hunter beside a Spring (P02896), this is a cartoon for a tapestry in the Prince´s dining room at the El Pardo Palace. Both were designed to hang above windows, flanking the tapestry represent
The vault of the former Hall of Ambassadors at the Buen Retiro Palace, constructed alongside the former Royal Quarters of San Jerónimo at the behest of the Count-Duke of Olivares as a royal residence for leisure and for the monarchs’ public and official receptions. In the eastern part of this complex, a small building was erected after the palace itself was completed (1632). It was designed
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
This cartoon was for one of the tapestries to be hung in the Prince of Asturias´ dining room at the El Pardo Palace. Its narrow, elongated format indicates it was intended to be hung in a corner. It is probably inspired by a Chinese screen, which were very fashionable in the eighteenth century. The screen´s representation of exotic birds on tree branches is replaced here by a magpie an
It has often been stated that this painting is part of a series of four, all now in the Prado, but that is probably not the case. The dimensions of all four paintings (P1619, P1620, P1621, P1622) are similar, but their provenance is not. This, and Table with Cloth, Salt Cellar, Gilt Standing Cup, Pie, Jug, Porcelain Plate with Olives and Cooked Fowl (P1622), are first documented when they were inv
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
The allegories, The Hours of the Day, were painted in 1819 by José de Madrazo in Rome just before his return to Spain, to be used in the decoration of the small palace in Madrid known as Casino de la Reina. This country holding, considered one of “the most prized curiosities of Madrid”, was acquired in 1816 by the city government of Madrid as a gift for Queen María Isabel of Braganza
Bacchus, the god of wine, is the figure traditionally associated with Autumn. Accompanied here by a satyr with a wineskin, he leans on a barrel and raises a goblet of wine in a pose inspired by the classical marble statue of the Resting Satyr -then in La Granja palace and now in the Prado- after an original by Praxiteles. In the background several companions carry a drunken Silenus.
The series devoted to the Four Seasons was possibly commissioned from Maella by Charles IV to decorate the Platinum Room in the Casa del Labrador in Aranjuez, although in the end the Four Seasons executed by the French painter Anne-Louis Girodet were hung there. Maella chose the figure of the goddess Flora, accompanied by a cherub, for his allegory of Spring.
Inside a house set in a snow-covered, nocturnal landscape, a peasant and his wife warm themselves by the fire next to a table laid with supper. The scene may allude to the myth of Hades and Persephone that is connected with this season, during which Persephone lives in the Underworld with Hades, her abductor, refusing the food he offers her to keep her in his realm.
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