- Cronología
- 1797
- Ubicación
- The Hispanic Society of America, New York, United States
- Dimensiones
- 210 x 149 cm
- Técnica y soporte
- Oil on canvas
- Reconocimiento de la autoría de Goya
- Documented work
- Titular
- Hispanic Society of America
- Ficha: realización/revisión
- 22 Feb 2010 / 15 Jun 2023
- Inventario
- (A 3309)
- Otros títulos:
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La Duquesa de Alba
Solo Goya-1797 ("Only Goya- 1797", written in the sand next to the subject's feet).
This canvas passed through various collections before being housed in its current location. It belonged to the old Urzaiz Gallery in Seville, moving from there to the Goesvelt Gallery in London, the old Spanish Museum of the Louvre, the Spanish Gallery of King Louis-Philippe in London, the Bamberg Collection, the Irureta Goyena Collection in Seville, the Montaignac Collection in Paris, the Paul Sohège Collection in Paris, the Kraemer Collection in Paris and the Huntington Collection in New York.
On this occasion Goya painted the Duchess of Alba dressed in mourning. She is shown outdoors, standing in a natural landscape which could be the outskirts of Sanlúcar de Barrameda or the floodplains of the Guadalquivir river, where the Duchess went when her husband, the Duke of Alba, died in 1796, and where Goya also lived for a time, producing an album of drawings (Sanlúcar Album) and some paintings.
The Duchess' pose is striking: she is pointing to Goya's signature on the ground, which is written upside-down, intended to be read by the lady. She is wearing two rings on the hand with which she points; they are inscribed with the words "Goya" and "Alba".
She is dressed very elegantly. A red sash tied at her waist lends a touch of colour to the composition, as do her sleeves, which are embellished with some gold motifs.
In contrast to the previous Goya portrait of the Duchess in which she is wearing white and wears her hair down, in this work her hair is covered with a lace veil. She is also wearing white clogs which peep out from under her dress - a fashionable item at the time, and extremely well depicted by the artist.
Her face, rather expressionless, is dominated by her large dark eyes; her cheeks are lightly rouged, as was the fashion of the period.
Various copies exist of this work.
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Goya: Order and disorderMuseum of Fine ArtsBoston2014cat. 115
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Goya: The PortraitsLondon2015cat. 24
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Expérience GoyaLille2021cat. 18
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Notice des tableaux de la Galerie espagnole exposés dans les salles du Musée Royal au Louvre ,ParísMusée du Louvre, [S.l.] [s.n.] Paris de l'Imprimerie de Crapelet1938nº 103
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La Duquesa de Alba y Goya. Estudio biográfico y artísticoMadridBlass1928p. 211
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L'œuvre peint de Goya. 4 volsParís1928-1950p. 92, cat. 374
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Goya and his sittersNew YorkThe Hispanic Society of America1964p. 13-14
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Vie et ouvre de Francisco de GoyaParísOffice du livre1970p. 171, cat. 355
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BarcelonaPolígrafa1970vol. I, p. 298, cat. 371
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Goya: Order & DisorderBostonMuseum of Fine Arts Boston Publications2014p. 190
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LondonNational Gallery Company2015pp. 93-94
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Expérience Goya (cat. expo)LilleRéunion des Musées Nationaux2021pp. 48-49