Francisco de Goya

Milkmaid of Bordeaux (La lechera de Burdeos)

Milkmaid of Bordeaux (La lechera de Burdeos)
Datos Generales
Cronología
1825 - 1827
Ubicación
The Prado National Museum. Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Dimensiones
74 x 68 cm
Técnica y soporte
Oil on canvas
Reconocimiento de la autoría de Goya
Documented work
Titular
El Prado National Museum
Ficha: realización/revisión
17 Jun 2010 / 15 Jun 2023
Inventario
(P02899)
Inscripciones

Goya (on the side).

Historia

This work was painted in Bordeaux. Leocadia Zorilla inherited it on Goya's death, and sold it to Juan Bautista de Muguiro, a good friend of Goya's in Bordeaux. The letter which Leocadia wrote to Muguiro on 9 December 1829 has survived, in which she offers him the painting for a sum no lower than an ounce of gold, as she had been instructed by Goya. The letter was published in its entirety by Sánchez Cantón in 1947.

It remained in the Muguiro family until the buyer's nephew, Fermín de Muguiro y Beruete, the Third Count of Muguiro and Alto Bacilés bequeathed it to the Prado Museum. It was entrusted to the museum on 5 December 1945.

Análisis artístico

The Milkmaid of Bordeaux is one of Goya's most acclaimed works. Painted in the last years of his life, it is striking for its cheerful colouring and bright lighting, which contrast with the dark monochromes which dominate the rest of the works from his final years. Some experts see in this work the most accomplished example of Goyaesque impressionism, above all in the execution of the shawl which covers the maid's shoulders.

The woman depicted in this genre painting, which may well be a portrait, has not been identified. She is seated, probably on a saddle on which she rode when she delivered the milk, as suggested by the low point of view. She is wearing a white cloth on her head which covers part of her brown hair, a shawl rendered in bluish tones and yellow and white flecks which crosses over her chest, and a black skirt. Her figure stands out against a greenish-blue sky with white touches. By her side we can make out a pitcher brimming with white milk. On the curve of the pitcher there is an inscribed signature which defends Goya's authorship, although Juliet Wilson has cast doubt on its authenticity. The expert thinks that the author of this work may have been Rosario Weiss, the daughter of Leocadia Zorrilla. We know that Rosario also painted, and that Goya held her and her artistic skills in high esteem, but in 1827 she was only thirteen, and it seems unlikely that such a young girl would be capable of creating such a magnificent work. Due to a lack of evidence to support the theory, most academics still support the attribution of this work to Goya.

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
  • Pintura española de la primera mitad del siglo XIX
    Sociedad Española de Amigos del Arte
    Madrid
    1913
  • Pinturas de Goya
    Museo Nacional del Prado
    Madrid
    1928
    consultant editor Fernando Álvarez de Sotomayor. From April to May 1928
  • Goya y el espíritu de la Ilustración
    Museo Nacional del Prado
    Madrid
    1988
    from October 6th to December 18th 1988. Exhibited also at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, January 18th to March 26th 1989; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Nueva York, May 9th to July 16th 1989, Madrid curator Manuela B. Mena Marqués, scientific directors Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez and Eleanor A. Sayre
  • Goya. 250 Aniversario
    Museo Nacional del Prado
    Madrid
    1996
    consultant editor Juan J. Luna. From March 29th to June 2nd 1996
  • Realidad e imagen. Goya 1746 – 1828
    Museo de Zaragoza
    Zaragoza
    1996
    consultant editor Federico Torralba Soriano. From October 3th to December 1st 1996
  • Goya’s last Works
    The Frick Art Collection
    New York
    2006
    consultant editors Jonathan Brown and Susan Grace Galassi. From February 22nd to May 14th 2006
  • Goya y el Mundo Moderno
    Museo de Zaragoza
    Zaragoza
    2008
    organized by the Fundación Goya en Aragón at the Museo de Zaragoza, consultant editors Valeriano Bozal and Concepción Lomba Serrano. From December 18th 2008 to March 22nd 2009
  • Goya e il Mondo Moderno
    Palazzo Reale
    Milan
    2010
    organized by SEACEX, Palazzo Reale and Fundación Goya en Aragón, consultant editors Valeriano Bozal and Concepción Lomba Serrano. From March 17th to June 27th 2010
  • Expérience Goya
    Lille
    2021
Bibliografía
  • DESPARMET FITZ - GERALD, Xavier
    L'œuvre peint de Goya. 4 vols
    París
    1928-1950
    vol. I, p. 298, cat. 277
  • SÁNCHEZ CANTÓN, Francisco Javier
    De la estancia bordelesa de Goya
    Archivo Español del ArteMadrid
    Madrid
    1974
    pp. 62-63
  • GASSIER, Pierre y WILSON, Juliet
    Vie et ouvre de Francisco de Goya
    ParísOffice du livre
    1970
    pp. 356, 361, cat. 1667 y p. 25 (il.)
  • GUDIOL RICART, José
    BarcelonaPolígrafa
    1970
    vol. I, p. 389, cat. 767
  • ANGELIS, Rita de
    L’opera pittorica completa di Goya
    MilanRizzoli
    1974
    p. 137, cat. 691
  • CAMÓN AZNAR, José
    Francisco de Goya, 4 vols.
    ZaragozaCaja de Ahorros de Zaragoza, Aragón y Rioja
    1980-1982
    vol. IV, p. 221 y p. 212 (il.)
  • PÉREZ SÁNCHEZ, Alfonso E. y SAYRE, Eleanor A. (directores) and MENA, Manuela B. (comisaria)
    Goya y el espíritu de la Ilustración
    MadridMuseo del Prado
    1988
    p. 376, cat. 124 y p. 377 (il.)
  • LUNA, Juan J. (Comisario)
    Goya. 250 Aniversario
    MadridMuseo del Prado
    1996
    p. 435, cat. 170 y p. 277 (il.)
  • TORRALBA SORIANO, Federico (comisario)
    Realidad e imagen. Goya 1746 – 1828
    MadridGobierno de Aragón y Electa España
    1996
    p. 188. cat. 68 y p. 189 (il.)
  • BROWN, Jonathan y GALASSI, Susan Grace
    Goya’s last works
    New YorkThe Frick Collection and Yale University Press
    2006
    p. 118, cat. 12 y p. 119 (il.)
  • COTENTIN, Régis
    Expérience Goya (cat. expo)
    LilleRéunion des Musées Nationaux
    2021
    pp. 78-79
Enlaces externos
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