- Cronología
- Ca. 1786
- Ubicación
- Private collection, Madrid, Spain
- Dimensiones
- 122 x 88 cm (including 2.2 cm from the left edge)
- Técnica y soporte
- Oil on canvas
- Reconocimiento de la autoría de Goya
- Undisputed work
- Titular
- Private collection
- Ficha: realización/revisión
- 17 Feb 2010 / 15 Jun 2023
This portrait of Juan Agustín Ceán Bermúdez was painted by Goya for the subject. It is possible that it was produced during the artist's second stay in Andalusia between 1796 and 1797. It belonged to the Marquises of Corvera and subsequently the Marquises of Perinat y Campo Real (Madrid). The work remains in the possession of their descendents today.
Juan Agustín Ceán Bermúdez was a painter, historian and art critic. He also had a career in government as First Official of the Secretariat at the Banco Nacional de San Carlos (Spain's national central bank). He was a friend of Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, and worked for a time at the General Archives of the Indies in Seville.
He travelled throughout Spain, and was the author of the Diccionario histórico de los más ilustres profesores de Bellas Artes en España (Historical Dictionary of the Most Illustrious Professors of Arts in Spain), published in 1800 by the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts. In 1814 he published a biography of Jovellanos, a work fundamental to our knowledge of this figure.
He was also a friend and advisor to Goya, who painted him on several occasions. Here we see him seated in a relaxed pose, resting his right arm on a table which has some papers on it. He is wearing a brown jacket, white shirt, breeches with buckles and white stockings. This portrait is notable for its dark tones, with the brightest highlights being provided by the sitter's stockings and shirt. As in the case of the majority of Goya's portraits, the dark background serves to make the figure stand out.
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Goya 1900Ministerio de Instrucción Pública and Bellas ArtesMadrid1900consultant editors Aureliano de Beruete, Alejandro Ferrant, Marqués de Pidal and Ricardo Velázquez. May 1900cat.116
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Pinturas de GoyaMuseo Nacional del PradoMadrid1928consultant editor Fernando Álvarez de Sotomayor. From April to May 1928cat. 19
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Francisco de Goya. IV Centenario de la capitalidadorganized by Ayuntamiento de Madrid and Dirección General de Bellas Artes at the Casón del Buen RetiroMadrid1961consultant editor Valentín de SambricioXXVII
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Goya and his timesThe Royal Academy of ArtsLondon1963cat. 66
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Goya nelle collezioni private di SpagneVilla FavoritaLugano1986consultant editor Marta Medina. From June 15th to October 15th 1986
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Goya en tiempos de guerraMuseo Nacional del PradoMadrid2008consultant editor Manuela B. Mena Marqués, from April 14th to July 13th 2008cat. 11
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Madrid2021
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L'œuvre peint de Goya. 4 volsParís1928-1950p.109, cat.391
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Vie et ouvre de Francisco de GoyaParísOffice du livre1970p. 170, cat.334
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BarcelonaPolígrafa1970vol. I, p.286, cat.318
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Juan Agustín Ceán Bermúdez escritor y crítico de Bellas ArtesOviedoInstituto de Estudios Asturianos1982p. 142
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La década de los Caprichos. Retratos 1792-1804MadridReal Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando1992p. 135, cat. 36
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Ydioma universal: Goya en la Biblioteca NacionalMadridBiblioteca Nacional, Sociedad Estatal Goya 96 y Lunwerg1996p. 71, nº 1 y fig. 6
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Goya 1900MadridMinisterio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, Dirección General de Bellas Artes y Bienes Culturales e Instituto del Patrimonio Histórico Español2002vol. II, pp.228, 229 (il.) y 230
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Goya en tiempos de guerraMadridMuseo Nacional del Prado2008cat. 11
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MadridBanco de España2021pp. 78-81