List of Francisco Goya's tapestry cartoons explained

See main article: Francisco Goya's tapestry cartoons. This is a complete list of Francisco Goya's 63 large cartoons for tapestries (Spanish: cartones para tapices) painted on commission for Charles III of Spain and later Charles IV of Spain between 1775 and 1791 to hang in the San Lorenzo de El Escorial and El Pardo palaces. The word "cartoon" is derived from the Italian cartone, which describes a large sheet of paper used in preparation for a later painting or tapestry.[1] Goya's were executed on canvas which was then woven into wool tapestry to a large mural scale. While many of the large finished works are today in the Prado Museum, the original sketches were sold as works in their own right.[2]

In 1774, Goya was asked by the German artist Anton Raphael Mengs, acting on behalf of the Spanish crown, to undertake the series. While designing tapestries was neither prestigious nor well paid, Goya used them, along with his early engravings, to bring himself to wider attention.[3] They afforded his first contact with the Spanish monarchy that was to eventually appoint him court painter.[4] The works are mostly popularist in a rococo style, and were completed early in his career, when he was largely unknown and actively seeking commissions. There is evidence that he later regretted having spent so much effort and time on the pieces, and that his later darker period, which begins roughly with Yard with Lunatics, was in part a reaction against them.

By 1776, aged 29, he had completed five tapestries, by the Real Fábrica de Tapices de Santa Bárbara, the royal tapestry manufactory. His brother-in-law Francisco Bayeu was made director of the tapestry works in 1777, which greatly advanced the ambitious artist's career prospects.[5] However, Goya was beset by illness during the period, and his condition was used against him by the contemporary art scene, which looked jealously upon any artist seen to be rising in stature. Some of the larger cartoons, such as The Wedding, were more than 8 by 10 feet, and had proved a drain on his physical strength. Ever resourceful, Goya turned this misfortune around, claiming that his illness had allowed him the insight to produce works that were more personal and informal.[6] However, he found the format limiting, because being inherently matte, tapestry was unable to capture complex colour shift or texture, and was unsuited to the impasto and glazing techniques he was by then applying to his painted works.[7]

Dating the series has not been difficult as the Royal Tapestry Works maintained a detailed record of the dates, titles, sizes and states in which each of the cartoons arrived. Goya's letters to his friends (in particular his correspondence with the Aragonese industrialist Martín Zapater) contain additional details.

Groupings

The series can be divided into a number of groups based on intended location or theme. Art historians Valeriano Bozal and Nigel Glendinning arrange the series in four groups,[8] [9] whereas Janis Tomlinson places them in seven.[10] The Goya catalogue of the Museo del Prado is closer to Tomlinson than to Bozal or Glendinning, but attempts to reconcile the two positions by grouping the cartoons into five sequences.[11]

Goya had at first wanted to paint French or Dutch pastoral scenes, however Charles IV preferred "entertainments and clothing of the present time". This afforded Goya the opportunity to study closely his fellow citizens going about their daily lives,[12] and allowed him to work outside of ecclesiastical commissions, which he often found dull and uninspiring.[13] In general the cartoons are playful and depict the leisure activities of a variety of ages and social classes. Nine are hunting scenes that were for the dining room at the Escorial, which pleased the king's son—the future Charles IV—who was an avid hunter. A further ten were created for the dining room at El Pardo.[14] The prince's wife, Maria Luisa, enjoyed the scenes of dancing and singing. The works are painted in the then-fashionable Rococo style, and heavily influenced by Antoine Watteau, whose work Goya came to know through his studies of Titian.[15]

First series (1775)

Tapestry Spanish title Date Dimensions Museum
La caza del jabalí[16] 1775 249 × 173 cm Palacio Real (Madrid)
La caza de la codorniz[17] o Partida de caza[18] 1775 290 × 226 cm Museo del Prado (Madrid)
Perros y útiles de caza[19] 1775 112 × 174 cm Museo del Prado
Caza con reclamo[20] 1775 112 × 179 cm Museo del Prado
Cazador cargando su escopeta[21] 1775 289 × 90 cm Museo del Prado
El cazador con sus perros[22] 1775 262 × 71 cm Museo del Prado
El pescador de caña[23] 1775 290 × 226 cm Museo del Prado

Second series (1776–1778)

Tapestry Spanish title Date Dimensions Museum
La merienda a orillas del Manzanares[24] 1776 271 × 295 cm Museo del Prado
El baile de San Antonio de la Florida[25] 1776–1777 275 × 298 cm Museo del Prado
El bebedor[26] 1777 107 × 151 cm Museo del Prado
El quitasol (The Parasol)[27] 1777 104 × 152 cm Museo del Prado
La maja y los embozados[28] 1777 275 × 190 cm Museo del Prado
La riña en la Venta Nueva[29] 1777 275 × 414 cm Museo del Prado
Jugadores de naipes[30] 1777–1778 270 × 167 cm Museo del Prado
La cometa[31] 1778 269 × 285 cm Museo del Prado
Muchachos cogiendo fruta[32] 1778 119 × 122 cm Museo del Prado
Niños inflando una vejiga[33] 1778 116 × 124 cm Museo del Prado

Third series (1778–1779)

Tapestry Spanish title Date Dimensions Museum
El ciego de la guitarra[34] 1778–1779 260 × 311 cm Museo del Prado
El cacharrero[35] 1778–1779 259 × 220 cm Museo del Prado
La acerolera[36] 1778–1779 259 × 100 cm Museo del Prado
La feria de Madrid[37] 1778–1779 258 × 218 cm Museo del Prado
El militar y la señora[38] 1778–1779 259 × 100 cm Museo del Prado
Muchachos jugando a soldados 1779[39] 146 × 94 cmMuseo del Prado
El niño del árbol[40] [41] 1779–1780 262 × 40 cm Museo del Prado
El muchacho del pájaro[42] 1779–1780 262 × 40 cm Museo del Prado
El majo de la guitarra[43] 1779 137 × 112 cmMuseo del Prado

Fourth series (1779–1780)

Tapestry Spanish title Date Dimensions Museum
El columpio[44] 1779 260 × 165 cmMuseo del Prado
El juego de la pelota a pala[45] 1779 261 × 470 cm Museo del Prado
El médico[46] 1779 95.8 × 120.2 cm National Gallery of Scotland
El balancín[47] 1780 95.8 × 120.2 cm
Niños del carretón[48] 1778 30 × 43 cm Toledo Museum of Art (Ohio)
La cita[49] 1779–1780 100 × 151 cm Museo del Prado
El resguardo de tabacos[50] 1779–1780 262 × 137 cm Museo del Prado
Las lavanderas[51] 1779–1780 218 × 166 cm Museo del Prado
Los leñadores[52] 1780 141 × 114 cm Museo del Prado
La novillada[53] 1780 259 × 136 cm Museo del Prado

Fifth series (1786–1787)

Tapestry Spanish title Date Dimensions Museum
Niños con mastines[54] 1786–1787 112 × 145 cm Museo del Prado
Niño montando un carnero[55] 1786–1787 127.2 × 112.1 cm Art Institute of Chicago (Illinois)
Las floreras[56] 1786–1787 277 × 192 cm Museo del Prado
La nevada[57] 1786–1787 275 × 293 cm Museo del Prado
El albañil herido[58] 1786–1787 268 × 110 cm Museo del Prado
Los pobres en la fuente[59] 1786–1787 277 × 115 cm Museo del Prado
Riña de gatos[60] 1786–1787 56 × 193 cm Museo del Prado
La vendimia[61] 1786–1787 275 × 190 cm Museo del Prado
La marica en un árbol[62] 1786–1787 279 × 28 cm Museo del Prado
La era[63] 1786–1787 276 × 641 cm Museo del Prado
Cazador junto a una fuente[64] 1786–1788 130 × 131 cm Museo del Prado
Pastor tocando la dulzaina[65] 1786–1788 130 × 134 cm Museo del Prado

Sixth series (1787–1788)

Tapestry Spanish title Date Dimensions Museum
La pradera de San Isidro[66] 178844 × 94 cm Museo del Prado
La ermita de San Isidro el día de la fiesta[67] 178842 × 44 cm Museo del Prado
La gallina ciega (Blind man's bluff)[68] 1788–1789 269 × 350 cm Museo del Prado
Merienda campestre[69] 1786 41.3 × 25.8 cm National Gallery of London
Gato acosado[70] 1786 42 × 15.5 cm Colección particular (Madrid)

Seventh series (1791–1792)

Tapestry Spanish title Date Dimensions Museum
Mujeres conversando[71] 1791–1792 59 × 145 cm Wadsworth Atheneum (Hartford)
Las gigantillas[72] 1791–1792 137 × 104 cm Museo del Prado
Los zancos[73] 1791–1792 137 × 104 cm Museo del Prado
La boda[74] 1791–1792 268 × 320 cm Museo del Prado
Las mozas del cántaro[75] 1791–1792 262 × 160 cm Museo del Prado
Muchachos trepando a un árbol[76] 1791–1792 141 × 111 cm Museo del Prado
El pelele[77] 1791–1792 267 × 160 cm Museo del Prado

Sketches

Tapestry Spanish title Date Dimensions Museum
Niños jugando a soldados[78] 1775 39 × 28 cm Colección Yanduri (Sevilla)
El ciego de la guitarra[79] 1778 Biblioteca Nacional (Madrid)
Los jugadores de naipes [80] c. 1777 86.5 × 59 cmWinterthur Collection (Winterthur)
Las lavanderas[81] 1779 86.5 × 59 cmWinterthur Collection (Winterthur)
La primavera[82] 1786–1787 35 × 24 cm Colección de Montellano (Madrid)
La trilla[83] 1786–1787 34 × 76 cm Museo Lázaro Galdiano (Madrid)
The Grape Harvest 1786 34 × 24.2 cm Clark Art Institute (Williamstown)
El invierno[84] 1786–1787 34.3 × 36.6 cm Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago)
El albañil borracho[85] 1786 35 × 15 cm Museo del Prado
Mujer y dos niños junto a una fuente[86] 1786–1787 18.5 × 3.5 cm Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (Madrid)
La gallina ciega[87] 1788–1789 18.5 × 3.5 cm Museo del Prado
Mozas del cántaro[88] 1791 34 × 21 cm Colección Paloma McCrohon (Madrid)
El pelele[89] 1791 35.6 × 23.2 cm Hammer Museum (Los Angeles)

See also

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. "Cartoon". National Gallery, London. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  2. Grange, 43
  3. Hagen & Hagen, 7
  4. Hughes, 103
  5. Hughes, 44-45
  6. Hughes, 130
  7. Hughes, 83
  8. Bozal, Valeriano
  9. Glendinning, Nigel
  10. http://www.museodelprado.es/enciclopedia/enciclopedia-on-line/voz/cartones-para-tapices-goya Cartones para tapices
  11. Mena Márquez, Manuela de
  12. Grange, 43
  13. Hughes, 84
  14. "Francisco de Goya (1746–1828) and the Spanish Enlightenment". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  15. Hughes, 22
  16. Gassier, p. 84.
  17. Gassier, pág. 84.
  18. Web site: . Madrid . Partida de caza . 22 March 2003 . es.
  19. [Museo del Prado]
  20. Museo del Prado, «Caza con reclamo». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  21. Museo del Prado, «Cazador cargando su escopeta». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  22. Museo del Prado, «El cazador con sus perros». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  23. Museo del Prado, «El pescador de caña». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  24. Museo del Prado, «La merienda a orillas del Manzanares». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  25. Museo del Prado, «El baile de San Antonio de la Florida». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  26. Museo del Prado, «El bebedor». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  27. Museo del Prado, «El quitasol». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  28. Museo del Prado, «La maja y los embozados». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  29. Museo del Prado, «La riña en la venta nueva». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  30. Museo del Prado, «Jugadores de naipes». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  31. Museo del Prado, «La cometa ». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  32. Museo del Prado, «Muchachos cogiendo fruta». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  33. Museo del Prado, «Niños inflando una vejiga». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  34. Museo del Prado, «El ciego de la guitarra». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  35. Museo del Prado, «El cacharrero». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  36. Museo del Prado, «La acerolera». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  37. Museo del Prado, «La feria de Madrid». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  38. Museo del Prado, «El militar y la señora». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  39. Museo del Prado, «Muchachos jugando a soldados»
  40. Museo del Prado, «El niño del árbol». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  41. It is difficult to determine to which series these works belong. (El majo de la guitarra, El columpio, El juego de la pelota a pala, El niño del árbol and El muchacho del pájaro.) Most critics place them in the third series, while Tomlinson places them in the fourth.
  42. Museo del Prado, «El muchacho del pájaro». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  43. Museo del Prado, «El majo de la guitarra».Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  44. Museo del Prado, «El columpio». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  45. Museo del Prado, «El juego de la pelota a pala». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  46. [National Gallery of Scotland]
  47. [Museu de Belles Arts de València]
  48. [Toledo Museum of Art]
  49. Museo del Prado, «La cita». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  50. Museo del Prado, «El resguardo de tabacos». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  51. Museo del Prado, «Las lavanderas». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  52. Museo del Prado, «Los leñadores». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  53. Museo del Prado, «La novillada». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  54. Museo del Prado, «Niños con mastines». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  55. [Art Institute of Chicago]
  56. Museo del Prado, «Las floreras». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  57. Museo del Prado, «La nevada». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  58. Museo del Prado, «El albañil herido». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  59. Museo del Prado, «Los pobres en la fuente»
  60. Museo del Prado, «Riña de gatos»
  61. Museo del Prado, «La vendimia». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  62. Museo del Prado, «La marica en un árbol». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  63. Museo del Prado, «La era». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  64. Museo del Prado, «Cazador junto a una fuente». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  65. Museo del Prado, «Pastor tocando la dulzaina». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  66. Museo del Prado, «La pradera de San Isidro». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  67. Museo del Prado, «La ermita de San Isidro el día de la fiesta». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  68. Museo del Prado, «La gallina ciega». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  69. [National Gallery of London]
  70. ArteHistoria.com, «Gato acosado» . Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  71. ArteHistoria.com, «Mujeres conversando» . Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  72. Museo del Prado, «Las gigantillas». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  73. Museo del Prado, «Los zancos». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  74. Museo del Prado, «La boda». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  75. Museo del Prado, «Las mozas del cántaro». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  76. Museo del Prado, «Muchachos trepando a un árbol». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  77. Museo del Prado, «El pelele». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  78. [Universidad de Zaragoza]
  79. [Biblioteca Nacional de España]
  80. Fundación Goya en Aragón, «Los jugadores de naipes». Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  81. Universidad de Zaragoza, «Las lavanderas». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  82. Universidad de Zaragoza, «La primavera». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  83. [Museo Lázaro Galdiano]
  84. [Art Institute of Chicago]
  85. Museo del Prado, «El albañil borracho». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  86. [Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum]
  87. Museo del Prado, «La gallina ciega». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  88. Juan J. Luna (1996), «Mozas del cántaro». Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  89. Universidad de Zaragoza, «El pelele». Retrieved 27 March 2010.

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