- Cronología
- Ca. 1796 - 1797
- Ubicación
- Cádiz
- Dimensiones
- 146 x 340 cm
- Técnica y soporte
- Oil on canvas
- Reconocimiento de la autoría de Goya
- Documented work
- Titular
- Obispado de Cádiz y Ceuta
- Ficha: realización/revisión
- 20 Oct 2010 / 13 Jun 2023
See The Parable of the Guests at the Wedding (La parábola de los convidados a la boda).
Goya's canvas Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes is located on the gospel side of the Oratory. It is based on a story from the Gospel of Saint Mark, chapter 8.
The scene takes place in the open air, and is reminiscent of The Meadow of San Isidro (La pradera de San Isidro), although the composition is dealt with in a different way here, with a semi-circular (as opposed to rectangular) frame. In the centre of the composition is the main group, dominated by the figure of Jesus performing a miracle. There are two more groups of figures situated on each side of him. On the right, the apostles watch the miracle at a distance, while those on the left marvel at the events taking place. In the background, the rest of the multitude is shown along the length of the meadow.
The main group is lit up by the brilliant white of Jesus' recently washed tunic. The boy's shirt and the tablecloth also have a clean and white appearance that complements the tunic.
The treatment of the background is very interesting, with a whole range of figures depicted as little more than patches of paint lost in a sky which is very blue (not grey, as was thought before its restoration). Close up the viewer can only make out deliberate pink, blue, black or grey patches, but at a distance these become people lost in the crowd.
1958: Mr Manuel López Gil restored the three paintings at the request of the Academy of Fine Arts, sponsored by Cádiz City Council.
1997: A collaboration agreement was signed between the Culture Department of the Government of Andalusia, the Caja Madrid Foundation and the World Monuments Fund to restore the canvases located in the Oratory, which were transferred to the Prado Museum in Madrid to this end.
-
Las pinturas de Goya en el oratorio de la Santa Cueva de CádizArte EspañolMadrid1928pp.388-391
-
L'œuvre peint de Goya. 4 volsParís1928-1950p. 282, cat. 534
-
Vie et ouvre de Francisco de GoyaParísOffice du livre1970pp. 191, cat. 709
-
BarcelonaPolígrafa1970vol. I, p. 297, cat. 364