- Cronología
- 1815
- Ubicación
- Valencia Museum of Fine Arts, Valencia, Spain
- Dimensiones
- 100.6 x 75.5 cm
- Técnica y soporte
- Oil on canvas
- Reconocimiento de la autoría de Goya
- Documented work
- Titular
- Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Carlos
- Ficha: realización/revisión
- 15 Apr 2010 / 16 Jun 2023
- Inventario
- (584)
D.n Rafael Esteve P.r Goya 1815 ("Don Rafael Esteve, By Goya, 1815", on the back of the copper plate).
Goya probably painted this portrait of his colleague and friend in 1815, to commemorate Esteve being named Court Engraver.
The work belonged to the sitter and was inherited by his descendants. Antonio Esteve, his nephew, donated it to the Royal Academy of San Carlos, Valencia, in 1818.
Rafael Esteve y Vilella (Valencia, 1772-Madrid, 1847) was a renowned engraver, the son of the sculptor José Esteve Bonet and cousin of the painter Agustín Esteve y Marqués, with whom Goya had worked before. It was perhaps through his cousin that his professional relationship with Goya began, and which ended up with the two men becoming good friends. It has been suggested that they worked together on Goya's Bullfighting series of prints.
The engraver is shown here seated in an elegant chair, upholstered in yellow, in front of his desk, of the same colour, with an upright posture and his left hand on his hip. In his right hand he holds a burin and a copper plate which he is resting on the table. On top of this table we can see a print and all those elements that allude to the sitter's profession, of which he was evidently proud. Esteve's posture, his pose and impeccable attire, consisting of a black jacket, white shirt with frills, and black tie, give him a certain air of superiority, which is heightened by the low viewpoint that Goya has employed and which obliges the engraver to look down at the viewer. His face reflects the confidence of a well-known artist who, shortly after the realization of this portrait, was to become the director of the National Chalcography.
The Lázaro Galdiano Museum has a short bust portrait of the engraver (inv. 2351) which used to be attributed to Goya due to the fact that it is similar in appearance to this portrait, and also because it belonged to Rosario Weiss.
-
De Barnaba da Modena a Francisco de GoyaMuseo Nacional del PradoMadrid1939Exposición de pinturas de los siglos XIV al XIX recuperadas por España, consultant editors Francisco Javier Sánchez Cantón. July 1939cat. 43
-
GoyaFestival Internacional de Granada, Palacio de Carlos VGranada1955consultant editor Enrique Lafuente Ferraricat. 116
-
El arte de GoyaMuseo de Arte Occidental de TokioTokyo1971from 16th 1971 to January 23th 1972. Exhibited also at the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, January 29th to March 15th 1972.cat. 42
-
Pintura Espanhola do Século XIXFundação Calouste GulbenkianLisboa1974From June to July 1974cat. 31
-
Peinture espagnole du XVI á XIX siècle. Peinture espagnole du Museo San Pío V de ValenceHokkaido Museum of Modern ArtSapporo1991cat. 49
-
El món de Goya y López en el Museo Sant Pius VMuseo San Pio VValencia1992consultant editor Rafael Gil Salinas. From March to May 1992cat. 11
-
GoyaLa Lonja, Torreón Fortea y Museo Pablo GargalloZaragoza1992consultant editor Julián Gállegocat. 49
-
Realidad e imagen. Goya 1746 – 1828Museo de ZaragozaZaragoza1996consultant editor Federico Torralba Soriano. From October 3th to December 1st 1996cat. 62
-
Goya, un regard librePalais de Beaux ArtsLille1998from December 12th 1998 to March 14th 1999. Exhibited also at The Philadelphia Museum, Philadelphia, April 17th 1999 to July 11th 1999, consultant editor Arnauld Brejon de Lavergnée and Joseph J. Rishel in collaboration with Manuela B. Mena Marquéscat. 54
-
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. 128
-
Goya en tiempos de guerraMuseo Nacional del PradoMadrid2008consultant editor Manuela B. Mena Marqués, from April 14th to July 13th 2008cat. 166
-
Goya: The PortraitsLondon2015cat. 40
-
L'œuvre peint de Goya. 4 volsParís1928-1950vol. II, p. 204, cat. 493
-
Vie et ouvre de Francisco de GoyaParísOffice du livre1970pp. 228, 297, 377, cat. 1550 y p. 229 (i
-
BarcelonaPolígrafa1970vol. I, p. 365, cat. 645
-
L’opera pittorica completa di GoyaMilanRizzoli19741974, p. 129, cat. 588
-
Francisco de Goya, 4 vols.ZaragozaCaja de Ahorros de Zaragoza, Aragón y Rioja1980-1982vol. IV. p. 38 y p. 282 (il.), vol. III,
-
Realidad e imagen. Goya 1746 – 1828MadridGobierno de Aragón y Electa España1996p. 176, cat. 62 y p. 177 (il.)
-
Goya en tiempos de guerraMadridMuseo Nacional del Prado2008p. 454, cat. 166 y p. 455 (il.)
-
LondonNational Gallery Company2015pp. 142-143