Victor Guye

Beruete was responsible for bringing this work to light, along with its pair, the portrait of Nicolas-Philippe Guye, in 1913. Very little biographical information is known about this person, although it is thought that, when older, he may have been a page to Joseph Bonaparte and that he would have been around six years old when Goya painted him.

The boy appears here in front of a dark background, giving a heightened sense of volume. He is standing, dressed in a bluish-green uniform with gold braiding and a white shirt with high collar - in short, the uniform of the Order of Pages. His brightly-lit face bears an intelligent, concentrated look. Of interest is the way in which his blond hair complements the golden adornments of the uniform. In his hands he carries a book, adding to the serious and not at all childish appearance of the portrait.

According to Manuela Mena, the single long shadow at the boy's feet defines the space in a very Velázquez-like manner.