Monday Morning Museum: Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes

Self-Portrait, circa 1771-1775 by Francisco de Goya y Lucientes

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes – Sunday 30 March 1746 Fuendetodos, Aragón, Spain to Wednesday 16 April 1828 Bordeaux, France
Spanish Rococo Era / Romantic Painter and Printmaker

Don Manuel Osorio Manrique De Zuniga (1784-1792), circa 1790s

“The sitter is the son of the Count and Countess of Altamira. Outfitted in a splendid red costume, he is shown playing with a pet magpie (which holds the painter's calling card in its beak), a cage full of finches, and three wide-eyed cats. In Christian art birds frequently symbolize the soul, and in Baroque art caged birds are symbolic of innocence. Goya may have intended this portrait as an illustration of the frail boundaries that separate the child's world from the forces of evil or as a commentary on the fleeting nature of innocence and youth.” – Metropolitan Museum of Art

Last Monday’s Artist – Francis William Edmonds
Next Monday’s Artist – John White Alexander
“Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent