- Cronología
- 1795
- Ubicación
- The Prado National Museum. Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Dimensiones
- 195 x 126 cm
- Técnica y soporte
- Oil on canvas
- Reconocimiento de la autoría de Goya
- Undisputed work
- Titular
- El Prado National Museum
- Ficha: realización/revisión
- 01 Feb 2010 / 13 Jun 2023
- Inventario
- (P02449)
- Otros títulos:
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The Duke of Alba (El duque de Alba)
This painting belonged to the collections of the Countess of Niebla, the widowed Marchioness of Los Vélez, the Marquis of Villafranca and the Duke of Medina Sidonia. It was accepted by the board of the Prado Museum on 6 March 1926, entering the museum's collection on 25 May 1926.
José Alvarez de Toledo y Gonzaga (Madrid, 1756-Seville, 1796) became the 13th Duke of Alba upon his marriage to María Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva, Duchess of Alba. He received the Golden Fleece and the Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III and was named, in 1791, Inquisitor General of Seville. To carry out his duties he moved to his palace in Seville. He was a great lover of chamber music and a keen admirer of Joseph Haydn, the composer of the very musical score, entitled Four Songs with Pianoforte Accompaniment, that the sitter is shown holding in this portrait.
Goya represents the duke full length, wearing an orange-hued dress coat and leaning on a table, on top of which are a violin and a hat. His somewhat melancholy face reveals a sensitive lover of the arts. On this occasion Goya did not use the dark background so common in his portraits, instead placing the subject in the interior of a palace and in front of a wall which reflects back a light which brightens the room and gives the whole a heightened sense of depth, an unusual detail in Goya's work.
The previously widely accepted belief that this painting formed a pair with the portrait of the sitter's wife, the Duchess of Alba, is today disputed.
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Les chefs-d’œuvre du Musée du PradoMusée d’Art et d’HistoireGeneva1939consultant editors Fernando Álvarez de Sotomayor y Pedro Muguruza Otaño. From June to September 1939cat. 5
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GoyaPalacio de PedralbesBarcelona1977from April 12th to June 30th 1977cat. 24
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El arte europeo en la corte de España durante el siglo XVIIIGalerie des Beaux-ArtsBurdeos1979Exhibitied also at Grand Palais, París y Museo Nacional del Prado, Madridcat. 26
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Goya. La década de Los CaprichosMadrid1992organized by Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando sponsored by Fundación Central Hispano, Madrid, consultant editor Nigel Glendinnig. From October 26th 1992 to January 10th 1993cat. 17
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Goya. 250 AniversarioMuseo Nacional del PradoMadrid1996consultant editor Juan J. Luna. From March 29th to June 2nd 1996cat. 81
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Realidad e imagen. Goya 1746 – 1828Museo de ZaragozaZaragoza1996consultant editor Federico Torralba Soriano. From October 3th to December 1st 1996cat. 33
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Goya: Prophet der ModerneAlte NationalgalerieBerlin2005from July 13th to October 3th 2005. Exhibitied also at the Kunsthistorischemuseum, Vienna, October 18th 2005 to January 8th 2006, consultant editor Manuela B. Mena Marquéscat. 35
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Goya en tiempos de guerraMuseo Nacional del PradoMadrid2008consultant editor Manuela B. Mena Marqués, from April 14th to July 13th 2008cat. 6
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Goya: Order and disorderMuseum of Fine ArtsBoston2014cat. 116
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Goya: The PortraitsLondon2015cat. 21
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L'œuvre peint de Goya. 4 volsParís1928-1950p. 65, cat. 346
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Vie et ouvre de Francisco de GoyaParísOffice du livre1970p. 170, cat. 350
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BarcelonaPolígrafa1970vol. I, p. 289, cat. 333
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La década de los Caprichos. Retratos 1792-1804MadridReal Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando1992cat. 17
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Goya. 250 AniversarioMadridMuseo del Prado1996pp. 173 (il.) y 361, cat. 81
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La duquesa de Alba, «musa» de Goya. El mito y la historiaMadridEdiciones el Viso, Museo Nacional del Prado2006pp. 75 a 107
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Goya en tiempos de guerraMadridMuseo Nacional del Prado2008pp. 140 y 141 (il.), cat. 6
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Goya: Order & DisorderBostonMuseum of Fine Arts Boston Publications2014p. 191
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LondonNational Gallery Company2015pp. 89-90