Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos

This work entered the collection of Oviedo's Fine Arts Museum in April 2000 as a long-term deposit from the Spanish state, received from the Hidroeléctrica del Cantábrico company in lieu of corporation tax payments. It previously belonged to the Valls & Taberner Collection, in Barcelona.

In this full-length portrait, Jovellanos is portrayed standing in an outdoor setting, with a coastal landscape in the background, which has been identified as the beach at San Lorenzo (Gijón). The subject is shown in a relaxed pose, with one leg crossed over the other, leaning on a walking stick held in his right hand, with a hat in his left hand. He is wearing a greenish-coloured dress coat, waistcoat, white shirt with frills at the neck and the cuffs, short breeches, white stockings, and black shoes with silver buckles. On his chest he wears the insignia of the Order of Alcántara. His face, at once serene and full of concentration, is looking out towards the horizon.

In the sea behind him we can see two boats close to the coast, and another two further out.

The painting may have been made to commemorate the trip Jovellanos made to Gijón in 1782, after spending several years away from his native land.

An x-ray of the painting has confirmed the existence of an earlier portrait underneath this one. It depicts a young, as yet unidentified woman, and is also attributed to Goya.

For biographical information, see Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos.