Francisco de Goya

Ferdinand VII (Fernando VII)

Ferdinand VII (Fernando VII)
Datos Generales
Cronología
Ca. 1810
Ubicación
Palace of Navarre, Pamplona, Spain
Dimensiones
103 x 82 cm
Técnica y soporte
Oil on canvas
Reconocimiento de la autoría de Goya
Documented work
Titular
Diputación Foral de Navarra
Ficha: realización/revisión
14 Apr 2010 / 16 Jun 2023
Inscripciones

FERNANDO III DE NAVARRA / VII DE CASTILLA ("FERDINAND III OF NAVARRE AND VII OF CASTILE", at the bottom).

Historia

This work was made following Ferdinand VII's return to Spain from France, where he had been imprisoned once Joseph Bonaparte was named King of Spain. On 20 June 1814, the Regional Government of Navarre commissioned Goya to paint this portrait. The artist completed the task in just twelve days, and received two thousand reales as payment. This may be the first portrait that Goya made of the monarch after his return to Spain.

Análisis artístico

Ferdinand VII (San Lorenzo de El Escorial, 1784-Madrid, 1833) was proclaimed King of Spain in 1808, although soon afterwards he was forced into exile by the Napoleonic invasion. After the expulsion of Joseph Bonaparte, he reined once again, from 1814 up until his death. His reign was characterised by a return to absolutism and the persecution of liberals and afrancesados, or supporters of the French.

To execute this painting, Goya made use of the life studies that he had made for the portrait of Ferdinand VII on horseback, painted in 1808.

This half-length portrait depicts the monarch seated in front of a neutral background, accompanied by the symbols of his power: the royal crown, the baton adorned with castles and lions, and the robes of state, lined with ermine fur and held in place by a single button, over the top of which the necklace of the Order of the Golden Fleece hangs, with the blue and white sash of the Order of Charles III visible underneath.

The king has his head turned to the right, and the somewhat lost look upon his face gives him an absent, distracted appearance. According to some scholars of Goya's work, the artist was no great admirer of this monarch, for which reason he tended to represent him as an unpleasant, arrogant character.

Conservación

This portrait has undergone several interventions, resulting in damage to the quality of the painting. It was relined, the background painted black, and the inscription that we see today at the bottom of the canvas was added.

Exposiciones
  • Goya
    Ministry of Foreing Affairs
    Burdeos
    1951
    organized by the Bordeaux City Hall, consultant editor Gilberte Martin-Méry. From May 16th to June 30th 1951
  • Goya
    La Lonja, Torreón Fortea y Museo Pablo Gargallo
    Zaragoza
    1992
    consultant editor Julián Gállego
  • España 1808-1814. De súbditos a ciudadanos
    Museo de Santa Cruz
    Toledo
    2008
    consultant editor Juan Sisinio Pérez Garzón.From December 16th 2008 to June 14th 2009
  • Goya et la modernité
    Pinacothèque de Paris
    París
    2013
    from October 11st 2013 to March 16th 2014
Bibliografía
  • DESPARMET FITZ - GERALD, Xavier
    L'œuvre peint de Goya. 4 vols
    París
    1928-1950
    p. 192, cat. 479
  • CASTRO ÁLAVA, José Ramón
    El Goya de la Diputación de Navarra
    Príncipe de Viana
    1942
    año núm. 3, pp. 37-39
  • GASSIER, Pierre y WILSON, Juliet
    Vie et ouvre de Francisco de Goya
    ParísOffice du livre
    1970
    p. 297, cat. 1536
  • GUDIOL RICART, José
    BarcelonaPolígrafa
    1970
    vol. I, p. 361, cat. 629
  • CAMÓN AZNAR, José
    Francisco de Goya, 4 vols.
    ZaragozaCaja de Ahorros de Zaragoza, Aragón y Rioja
    1980-1982
    vol. IV, p. 35
  • GÁLLEGO, Julián
    Goya
    ZaragozaElecta
    1992
  • OROPESA, Marisa and RINCÓN GARCÍA, Wilfredo
    ParísPinacoteca de París
    2013
    pp. 288-289
Enlaces externos
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