Francisco de Goya

The Count of Floridablanca (El conde de Floridablanca)

The Count of Floridablanca (El conde de Floridablanca)
Datos Generales
Cronología
1783
Ubicación
Bank of Spain, Madrid, Spain
Dimensiones
262 x 166 cm
Técnica y soporte
Oil on canvas
Reconocimiento de la autoría de Goya
Documented work
Titular
Banco de España
Ficha: realización/revisión
21 Jan 2010 / 15 Jun 2023
Inventario
P_542
Inscripciones

PLAN DEL / CANAL DE ARAGON // AL EXCMO SEÑO[R] / FLORIDABLANCA / Año 1783 ("Plan of the Canal of Aragón", "To His Grace Señor Floridablanca, 1783", at the top and bottom of the plan).

Señor / Franco. Goya ("Señor Francisco de Goya", on the paper lying next to Goya's left foot).

 

Historia

This painting belonged to the Marchioness Martorell y Pontejos, and then to the Count of Miraflores and Marquis of Villanueva de Valdueza, from whom it was acquired by the Urquijo Bank. When this institution disappeared, it became the property of its present owner.

Análisis artístico

José Moñino y Redondo (Murcia, 1728-Seville, 1808) was named Chief Attorney of the Council of Castile by Charles III and sent to Rome by the king to press through the move to dissolve the Company of Jesus (1767). Upon his return to Spain, he was given the title of Count of Floridablanca and in 1776 was named First Secretary of the State, a post which he held for sixteen years under the reigns of Charles III and Charles IV. He became known above all for his interest in problems relating to agriculture and irrigation, and carried out some major hydraulic projects, including the conclusion of the Imperial Canal of Aragón.

When Goya immortalized him in this portrait, Floridablanca was at the zenith of his powers. In this official portrait, the count appears in the centre of the composition, standing, somewhat magnified in stature and with a distant air about him. In his right hand he is holding a pair of glasses and is dressed in a formal red suit, with the blue sash of Charles III across his chest.

To the left, Goya depicts himself in profile and standing out against the light. He is dressed elegantly for the occasion, with a dark coloured frock coat, white shirt with lace edging at the neck and cuffs, short trousers complete with buckles, white stockings and dark shoes, also with buckles. He is showing a painting to the count (a sketch for the church of San Francisco el Grande, according to the hypothesis of F. Nordström). Behind the count and before a table which is covered in and surrounded by various plans of the canal and a large desk clock, is an unidentified figure (perhaps the canal's engineer) holding a set of compasses in his hands. On the wall at the back, on the right-hand side, there hangs an oval-shaped bust portrait of King Charles III, whilst on the left a large curtain has been pulled back to partially reveal a landscape. On the ground and in the foreground, to either side of the count's feet, is a piece of paper bearing Goya's signature (on the left) and a volume of Práctica de la Pintura, by Acisclo A. Palomino (on the right), one of the most important Spanish treaties on the art of painting.

This is one of the first important works that Goya was commissioned to paint, and came shortly after his being elected academician of the Royal Academy of San Fernando (1780). This election granted him access to the circle of aristocrats and some of the most important figures in Madrid's society.

Exposiciones
  • Goya 1900
    Ministerio de Instrucción Pública and Bellas Artes
    Madrid
    1900
    consultant editors Aureliano de Beruete, Alejandro Ferrant, Marqués de Pidal and Ricardo Velázquez. May 1900
  • Pinturas de Goya
    Museo Nacional del Prado
    Madrid
    1928
    consultant editor Fernando Álvarez de Sotomayor. From Apri to -May 1928
  • Autorretratos de pintores españoles
    Museo Nacional de Arte Moderno
    Madrid
    1943
  • Goya
    Festival Internacional de Granada, Palacio de Carlos V
    Granada
    1955
    consultant editor Enrique Lafuente Ferrari
  • Francisco de Goya. IV Centenario de la capitalidad
    organized by Ayuntamiento de Madrid and Dirección General de Bellas Artes at the Casón del Buen Retiro
    Madrid
    1961
    consultant editor Valentín de Sambricio
  • Goya en las colecciones madrileñas
    Museo Nacional del Prado
    Madrid
    1983
    consultant editor Enrique Lafuente Ferrari. From April 19th to June 20th 1983
  • Aragón, de Reino a Comunidad
    Palacio de la Aljafería
    Zaragoza
    2002
  • Goya: Order and disorder
    Museum of Fine Arts
    Boston
    2014
  • Goya: The Portraits
    London
    2015
  • Madrid
    2021
Bibliografía
  • VIÑAZA, Conde de la
    Goya, su tiempo, su vida, sus obras
    MadridTipografía de Manuel G. Hernández, Impresor de la Real Casa
    1887
    p. 271, cat. CLIX
  • DESPARMET FITZ - GERALD, Xavier
    L'œuvre peint de Goya. 4 vols
    París
    1928-1950
    vol. II, p. 24, cat. 303
  • GASSIER, Pierre y WILSON, Juliet
    Vie et ouvre de Francisco de Goya
    ParísOffice du livre
    1970
    p. 93, cat. 203
  • GUDIOL RICART, José
    BarcelonaPolígrafa
    1970
    vol. I, p. 256, cat. 140
  • LAFUENTE FERRARI, Enrique (comisario)
    Goya en las colecciones madrileñas
    MadridAmigos del Museo del Prado
    1983
    pp.144, 145 (il.) y 146, cat. 3
  • ILCHMAN, Frederick y STEPANEK, Stephanie L. (comisarios)
    Goya: Order & Disorder
    BostonMuseum of Fine Arts Boston Publications
    2014
    pp. 36-37
  • BRAY, Xavier
    LondonNational Gallery Company
    2015
    pp. 34- 36
  • MENA, Manuela B. and ROMERO, Yolanda, et. al
    MadridBanco de España
    2021
    pp. 52-54
Enlaces externos
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