Ancient Spain
not including El Greco
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Judaica Manuscript Jewels II Cartier Music in old painting Early still life
Chronology : 1570-1599 1610-1619 1660-1679 1800-1809
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Judaica Manuscript Jewels II Cartier Music in old painting Early still life
Chronology : 1570-1599 1610-1619 1660-1679 1800-1809
1312 the Shem Tov Bible
2024 SOLD for $ 7M by Sotheby's
A Talmudist and kabbalist in the following of Maimonides, Rabbi Shem Tov ben Abraham ibn Gaon prepared for his own use a magnificent Masoretic Bible on parchment 34 x 25 cm. This document was paginated to 768 in the 20th century by David Solomon Sassoon.
The colophon on page 753 identifies the maker, dates the completion to 5072 matching 1312 CE, locates it in his hometown Soria (Castile) and identifies the contents as the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible arranged into Pentateuch, Prophets and Writings.
The possibly autograph illuminations are assimilating Christian and Jewish styles. An Islamic influence also appear in some multi-lobed gilded archways. The kabbalistic intention is revealed by some letter alterations supported by an alphabetic poem that starts the whole work.
Large margins in the page enable an unprecedentedly detailed Masorah parva supported by a detailed system of internal cross references. His Masoretic predecessors are quoted and commented with a very fair exactitude. Abundant citations of the Hilleli Codex provide an irreplaceable information about that lost Masoretic Bible from ca 600 CE.
Ibn Gaon considered his work as too important for being used by the diaspora. He emigrated with it in 1315 to the Holy Land. In the 14th century a Davidic prince in Baghdad is identified at its owner. It was sold for $ 7M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Sotheby's on September 10, 2024, lot 1. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The colophon on page 753 identifies the maker, dates the completion to 5072 matching 1312 CE, locates it in his hometown Soria (Castile) and identifies the contents as the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible arranged into Pentateuch, Prophets and Writings.
The possibly autograph illuminations are assimilating Christian and Jewish styles. An Islamic influence also appear in some multi-lobed gilded archways. The kabbalistic intention is revealed by some letter alterations supported by an alphabetic poem that starts the whole work.
Large margins in the page enable an unprecedentedly detailed Masorah parva supported by a detailed system of internal cross references. His Masoretic predecessors are quoted and commented with a very fair exactitude. Abundant citations of the Hilleli Codex provide an irreplaceable information about that lost Masoretic Bible from ca 600 CE.
Ibn Gaon considered his work as too important for being used by the diaspora. He emigrated with it in 1315 to the Holy Land. In the 14th century a Davidic prince in Baghdad is identified at its owner. It was sold for $ 7M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Sotheby's on September 10, 2024, lot 1. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1582-1972 La Peregrina
2011 SOLD for $ 11.8M by Christie's
A pearl made five hundred years ago by an anonymous mollusk in the Gulf of Panama got a fabulous destiny. Used in jewelry of all kinds to meet the changes of fashion, it demonstrates that not only diamonds are forever.
It entered in 1582 into the Spanish royal collection, where it was considered as the biggest pearl in the world. Pear-shaped, it was then weighing 223 grains.
Mary I of England, wife of Philip II of Spain, used it very elegantly as a pendant to a brooch. Philip IV of Spain preferred it as a hat pin. It went to France during the Spanish war of Joseph Bonaparte, and Napoleon III sold it to the English aristocracy.
This wandering pearl has been known for two centuries under the name La Peregrina. It lost twenty grains when it was reworked to improve the security of its setting.
Richard Burton bought it in 1969 at Sotheby's auction as a gift to Elizabeth Taylor.
It was mounted as pendant in a pearl necklace that did not please its new owners. Burton and Taylor then made designed by Cartier in 1972 the magnificent necklace of pearls, rubies and diamonds, where it is again hanging as pendant.
This necklace was sold for $ 11.8M from a lower estimate of $ 2M by Christie's on December 13, 2011, lot 12.
It entered in 1582 into the Spanish royal collection, where it was considered as the biggest pearl in the world. Pear-shaped, it was then weighing 223 grains.
Mary I of England, wife of Philip II of Spain, used it very elegantly as a pendant to a brooch. Philip IV of Spain preferred it as a hat pin. It went to France during the Spanish war of Joseph Bonaparte, and Napoleon III sold it to the English aristocracy.
This wandering pearl has been known for two centuries under the name La Peregrina. It lost twenty grains when it was reworked to improve the security of its setting.
Richard Burton bought it in 1969 at Sotheby's auction as a gift to Elizabeth Taylor.
It was mounted as pendant in a pearl necklace that did not please its new owners. Burton and Taylor then made designed by Cartier in 1972 the magnificent necklace of pearls, rubies and diamonds, where it is again hanging as pendant.
This necklace was sold for $ 11.8M from a lower estimate of $ 2M by Christie's on December 13, 2011, lot 12.
VELAZQUEZ
Intro
Psychological evaluation of life and art of Velazquez
Diego Velázquez (1599–1660), the preeminent Spanish Baroque painter and court artist to King Philip IV, is often described in art historical and psychological terms as a figure of profound detachment, observational acuity, and subtle introversion. While no formal psychological evaluation existed in his era (and modern psychoanalysis is retrospective), scholars, biographers, and interpreters reconstruct a personality that was intellectually curious, pragmatic, socially ambitious yet emotionally reserved, and deeply attuned to human complexity without overt sentimentality.
Personality Traits Inferred from Life and Contemporaries
Velázquez rose from a Seville apprenticeship under Francisco Pacheco to the pinnacle of the Spanish court, a trajectory requiring discipline, adaptability, and strategic maneuvering in a hierarchical, intrigue-filled environment. He was not prolific (producing roughly 110–120 works), suggesting a methodical, perfectionist approach rather than impulsive creativity.
Psychological Depth in His Art
Velázquez's realism was revolutionary: he painted from life, capturing inner life through subtle expressions, lighting, and gesture rather than idealization. This reveals a mind fascinated by perception, identity, and the human condition.
Overall Psychological Portrait
Velázquez emerges as a reserved, intellectually rigorous observer—detached yet profoundly empathetic—who used art to probe human essence amid power's illusions. His life balanced court servitude with artistic autonomy; his work balances grandeur with unflinching truth. This detachment enabled timeless psychological realism, influencing Impressionists (brushwork), modernists (perception), and thinkers exploring vision, power, and self.
In an age of absolutism and religious dogma, his quiet insistence on authentic humanity feels quietly rebellious—a painter who saw, recorded, and subtly questioned without fanfare.
Diego Velázquez (1599–1660), the preeminent Spanish Baroque painter and court artist to King Philip IV, is often described in art historical and psychological terms as a figure of profound detachment, observational acuity, and subtle introversion. While no formal psychological evaluation existed in his era (and modern psychoanalysis is retrospective), scholars, biographers, and interpreters reconstruct a personality that was intellectually curious, pragmatic, socially ambitious yet emotionally reserved, and deeply attuned to human complexity without overt sentimentality.
Personality Traits Inferred from Life and Contemporaries
Velázquez rose from a Seville apprenticeship under Francisco Pacheco to the pinnacle of the Spanish court, a trajectory requiring discipline, adaptability, and strategic maneuvering in a hierarchical, intrigue-filled environment. He was not prolific (producing roughly 110–120 works), suggesting a methodical, perfectionist approach rather than impulsive creativity.
- Detachment and cool observation — Biographers note his "cool detachment" in rendering subjects, especially marginalized figures like court dwarfs and jesters (e.g., portraits of Don Diego de Acedo or Mari Bárbola). He depicted them with dignity and psychological depth—intelligent gazes, resigned expressions—rather than caricature, revealing empathy without melodrama. This mirrors a personality that observed humanity objectively, perhaps as a coping mechanism in the stifling court atmosphere of absolutist Spain.
- Introversion and restraint — Unlike more theatrical Baroque artists (e.g., Rubens with dramatic motion), Velázquez favored subtle poses, muted tones, and psychological nuance over overt emotion. His self-portrait in Las Meninas shows him poised, brush in hand, gazing outward with calm authority—suggesting self-contained confidence rather than extroverted display.
- Ambition and social elevation — He pursued knighthood (Order of Santiago, 1659), intellectual pursuits (classics, perspective), and diplomatic roles (e.g., Italian trips as art buyer). This indicates pragmatic ambition and a desire for status beyond "mere craftsman," aligning with traits like high conscientiousness and calculated adaptability.
- Modern typologies (speculative) — Informal assessments (e.g., personality databases) propose ISTP (pragmatic, independent, present-focused) or Gemini traits (curious, adaptable). Others suggest Enneagram 2w1 (helpful yet morally principled). These reflect his blend of technical mastery and quiet insight into character.
Psychological Depth in His Art
Velázquez's realism was revolutionary: he painted from life, capturing inner life through subtle expressions, lighting, and gesture rather than idealization. This reveals a mind fascinated by perception, identity, and the human condition.
- Portraits as psychological studies — Works like Portrait of Innocent X (1650) convey complexity: the pope appears serious, curious, suspicious—more nuanced than detractors' "mean-spirited" views. Velázquez penetrated facades to reveal layered psyches.
- Marginalized figures — Dwarfs and jesters receive solemn, respectful treatment, suggesting compassion and awareness of social hierarchies' psychological toll (e.g., melancholic wisdom amid court entertainment).
- Las Meninas (1656) — This masterpiece embodies meta-psychological themes: the artist's gaze engages the viewer (positioned as the royal couple via mirror reflection), blurring observer/observed boundaries. Interpretations highlight perceptual ambiguities, power dynamics, and subjectivity. The Infanta's "perplexity," dwarfs' alertness, and Velázquez's self-inclusion suggest exploration of identity, illusion, and reality—perhaps reflecting his own position as insider/outsider in court life.
Overall Psychological Portrait
Velázquez emerges as a reserved, intellectually rigorous observer—detached yet profoundly empathetic—who used art to probe human essence amid power's illusions. His life balanced court servitude with artistic autonomy; his work balances grandeur with unflinching truth. This detachment enabled timeless psychological realism, influencing Impressionists (brushwork), modernists (perception), and thinkers exploring vision, power, and self.
In an age of absolutism and religious dogma, his quiet insistence on authentic humanity feels quietly rebellious—a painter who saw, recorded, and subtly questioned without fanfare.
1
1618 Praying Girl
2017 SOLD for € 9.7M by Abalarte
An oil on canvas 58 x 44 cm attributed to Diego Velazquez, undated and unsigned, has just surfaced in Spain. Although it has been inspected by only one expert, it was immediately offered at auction. It was sold for € 9.7M by Abalarte on April 25, 2017, lot 41.
It is a beautiful portrait of a little girl in half-length, her hands joined for prayer, her eyes wide open in a rather sad expression. The chiaroscuro on a black background and the realism of this child's portrait without any moving intent plead for an autograph work by Velazquez.
During the X-Ray inspection several white dots forming a halo were discovered, in conformance with a traditional iconography of Mary's childhood. This painting could have been conceived as an Inmaculada before being transformed by the artist in a modello portrait.
If this is the case it is probably prior to an Inmaculada preserved at the Fundacion Focus Abengoa in Sevilla, dated around 1618 and attributed by some experts to Velazquez and by others to Alonso Cano. Velazquez and his younger colleague Cano were both students in Sevilla to Francisco Pacheco, a painter and theoretician who had met El Greco and specialized in religious art for the local ecclesiastical clientele.
The high skill of Velazquez was precocious : barely 18 years old in 1617, he was received in the corporation of the painters of Sevilla and his first masterpiece mixing genre and still life, Vieja friendo hiejos, was painted in the following year. He was remaining at that time in the entourage of Pacheco whose daughter he married in 1618.
The portrait of an unidentified gentleman, oil on canvas 32 x 23 cm, was sold for € 4.2M by Abalarte on March 2, 2022, lot 163. The head is authenticated as a work by Velazquez. The canvas had been trimmed on its four sides. The neck and ruff are by another hand and the lace is later.
The pictural style and pigments are typical of Velazquez's period 1621-23. At that time he was still a resident in Sevilla but made long stays at the court of Felipe IV. The portrait of Gongora currently at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston was made in 1622 during his first visit in Madrid..
It is a beautiful portrait of a little girl in half-length, her hands joined for prayer, her eyes wide open in a rather sad expression. The chiaroscuro on a black background and the realism of this child's portrait without any moving intent plead for an autograph work by Velazquez.
During the X-Ray inspection several white dots forming a halo were discovered, in conformance with a traditional iconography of Mary's childhood. This painting could have been conceived as an Inmaculada before being transformed by the artist in a modello portrait.
If this is the case it is probably prior to an Inmaculada preserved at the Fundacion Focus Abengoa in Sevilla, dated around 1618 and attributed by some experts to Velazquez and by others to Alonso Cano. Velazquez and his younger colleague Cano were both students in Sevilla to Francisco Pacheco, a painter and theoretician who had met El Greco and specialized in religious art for the local ecclesiastical clientele.
The high skill of Velazquez was precocious : barely 18 years old in 1617, he was received in the corporation of the painters of Sevilla and his first masterpiece mixing genre and still life, Vieja friendo hiejos, was painted in the following year. He was remaining at that time in the entourage of Pacheco whose daughter he married in 1618.
The portrait of an unidentified gentleman, oil on canvas 32 x 23 cm, was sold for € 4.2M by Abalarte on March 2, 2022, lot 163. The head is authenticated as a work by Velazquez. The canvas had been trimmed on its four sides. The neck and ruff are by another hand and the lace is later.
The pictural style and pigments are typical of Velazquez's period 1621-23. At that time he was still a resident in Sevilla but made long stays at the court of Felipe IV. The portrait of Gongora currently at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston was made in 1622 during his first visit in Madrid..
@Abalarte presenta un #Velázquez inédito que se subastará el próximo 25 de abril □https://t.co/27rtaAvXhY vía @ArtMarketAgency pic.twitter.com/voIHKJghfg
— Canalpatrimonio (@canalpatrimonio) April 3, 2017
2
masterpiece
1650 Juan de Pareja
Metropolitan Museum
The skills of Diego Velazquez are recognized in the court of King Felipe IV who names him ayuda de camara (valet) in 1643 and superintendente de obras (superintendent of works) in the following year. Having thus become one of the closest collaborators of the king, he requests and obtains a mission in Italy to acquire paintings and sculptures worthy of the royal collection.
He left Malaga in 1649, visited Genoa, Milan, Venice and Modena, buying in passing important works by Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese. At the beginning of 1650 he was in Rome where he could take care of his own career. A previous stay in Italy in 1629-1630 had much contributed to his artistic training but he was still unknown in that country when he arrived in Rome.
He is accompanied by his slave Juan de Pareja, who is his preparer of colors. Aged about 44, Juan de Pareja is a mulatto with a Moorish dominance.
Velazquez has a great intuition. To assess that his expertise meets his reputation, he paints a portrait of his slave, to whom he commissions the demonstration of the result to a few selected friends. The truth of the portrait is breathtaking. The painting is exhibited in the Pantheon on March 19, 1650 for the feast of Saint Joseph, an extraordinary honor when considering that the work had just been completed. The Romans were dazzled by the physical and psychological resemblance between man and painting.
Velazquez was not only a painter of worldly portraits. He knew to give dignity to men whatever their social condition. Juan's gaze is proud and straight. He will have his reward : freed a few months later with a probation period, he will use his own painting skills to become one of Velazquez's best assistants.
The portrait of Juan de Pareja, oil on canvas 81 x 70 cm, was sold on November 27, 1970 by Christie's for £ 2.3M, worth US $ 5.5M at that time. It was purchased at that sale by Wildenstein acting for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met raises the necessary funds after a call for donations to the Friends of the Museum and acquires this masterpiece in 1971. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
He left Malaga in 1649, visited Genoa, Milan, Venice and Modena, buying in passing important works by Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese. At the beginning of 1650 he was in Rome where he could take care of his own career. A previous stay in Italy in 1629-1630 had much contributed to his artistic training but he was still unknown in that country when he arrived in Rome.
He is accompanied by his slave Juan de Pareja, who is his preparer of colors. Aged about 44, Juan de Pareja is a mulatto with a Moorish dominance.
Velazquez has a great intuition. To assess that his expertise meets his reputation, he paints a portrait of his slave, to whom he commissions the demonstration of the result to a few selected friends. The truth of the portrait is breathtaking. The painting is exhibited in the Pantheon on March 19, 1650 for the feast of Saint Joseph, an extraordinary honor when considering that the work had just been completed. The Romans were dazzled by the physical and psychological resemblance between man and painting.
Velazquez was not only a painter of worldly portraits. He knew to give dignity to men whatever their social condition. Juan's gaze is proud and straight. He will have his reward : freed a few months later with a probation period, he will use his own painting skills to become one of Velazquez's best assistants.
The portrait of Juan de Pareja, oil on canvas 81 x 70 cm, was sold on November 27, 1970 by Christie's for £ 2.3M, worth US $ 5.5M at that time. It was purchased at that sale by Wildenstein acting for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met raises the necessary funds after a call for donations to the Friends of the Museum and acquires this masterpiece in 1971. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
3
masterpiece
1650 Pope Innocent X
Doria Pamphilj Gallery
The portrait of the slave Juan de Paareja opened for the artist all the doors of the Vatican.
In August 1650 Pope Innocent X sits for him. The artist wants to do better than Titian and takes a great care in the attitude and in the colors. Admiring the masterpiece, the pope famously says : "Troppo vero".
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
In August 1650 Pope Innocent X sits for him. The artist wants to do better than Titian and takes a great care in the attitude and in the colors. Admiring the masterpiece, the pope famously says : "Troppo vero".
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
4
1650 Monsignor Segni by Velazquez and Neri
2023 SOLD for £ 3.44M by Sotheby's
Major prelates now desire a similar portrait of them. At that time Velazquez works slowly. If he accepts, he endangers the mission for his king while his return is awaited with an impatience soon to be officially notified. If he refuses, he loses his best protectors for the acquisition of the works of art promised to the king.
The portrait of Monsignor Cristoforo Segni reveals the clever solution found by Velazquez. This outstanding person in charge of overseeing the apostolic palaces sits in an armchair and holds a paper in his hand, on the model of the portrait of the pope. The paper has the same role of identifying the artist and the prelate. For Segni the name of another artist, Pietro Martire Neri, is also indicated near that text.
This double authentication has puzzled all art historians, especially since no collaboration between Velazquez and Neri has ever been documented. The sharpness and expression of the face could however not have been achieved by Neri whose personal known work is rather mediocre. Segni's head is an autograph painting by Velazquez. Neri completed the rest, possibly after the departure of Velazquez from Rome.
This oil on canvas 114 x 92 cm was sold by Sotheby's for $ 4.1M on February 1, 2018, lot 48, and for £ 3.44M on July 5, 2023, lot 19. The image is shared by Wikimedia. Please watch the videos shared by the auction house before each sale.
The portrait of Monsignor Cristoforo Segni reveals the clever solution found by Velazquez. This outstanding person in charge of overseeing the apostolic palaces sits in an armchair and holds a paper in his hand, on the model of the portrait of the pope. The paper has the same role of identifying the artist and the prelate. For Segni the name of another artist, Pietro Martire Neri, is also indicated near that text.
This double authentication has puzzled all art historians, especially since no collaboration between Velazquez and Neri has ever been documented. The sharpness and expression of the face could however not have been achieved by Neri whose personal known work is rather mediocre. Segni's head is an autograph painting by Velazquez. Neri completed the rest, possibly after the departure of Velazquez from Rome.
This oil on canvas 114 x 92 cm was sold by Sotheby's for $ 4.1M on February 1, 2018, lot 48, and for £ 3.44M on July 5, 2023, lot 19. The image is shared by Wikimedia. Please watch the videos shared by the auction house before each sale.
5
masterpiece
1656 Las Meninas
Prado
Las Meninas by Velazquez (Prado) : artist's motivation and influences, breakthrough and legacy.
Las Meninas (1656), housed in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, is widely regarded as one of the greatest masterpieces in Western art history. Painted by Diego Velázquez (1599–1660), the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age and court painter to King Philip IV, it captures a seemingly casual moment in the royal palace while profoundly exploring themes of perception, reality, illusion, and the act of painting itself.
Artist's Motivation
Velázquez created Las Meninas late in his career, after more than three decades in the royal household. By 1656, he had risen to high positions, including palace chamberlain, and had recently been knighted into the Order of Santiago (the cross on his chest in the painting was likely added later).
One prominent theory is that the work served as a personal statement and perhaps a "thank-you" gift to Philip IV for this knighthood and recognition, affirming Velázquez's elevated status not as a mere craftsman but as a court official and intellectual equal among nobility.
The painting depicts Velázquez at his easel in his studio in the Alcázar palace, working on a large canvas (possibly the very one we see, or one portraying the king and queen reflected in the mirror). It includes the five-year-old Infanta Margarita Teresa surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting (meninas), dwarfs, a dog, and other court figures, with the royal couple reflected in a distant mirror.
The motivation appears multifaceted: to document royal life with unprecedented naturalism, assert his artistic authority, and subtly elevate the status of painting as a liberal art rather than a manual trade. The inclusion of his self-portrait in a prominent position—brush in hand, looking out—centers the artist as the creator and orchestrator of the scene.
Influences
Velázquez's style in Las Meninas draws from several key sources:
Legacy
The painting's influence is immense and enduring:
Please watch the video shared by TED-Ed.
Las Meninas (1656), housed in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, is widely regarded as one of the greatest masterpieces in Western art history. Painted by Diego Velázquez (1599–1660), the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age and court painter to King Philip IV, it captures a seemingly casual moment in the royal palace while profoundly exploring themes of perception, reality, illusion, and the act of painting itself.
Artist's Motivation
Velázquez created Las Meninas late in his career, after more than three decades in the royal household. By 1656, he had risen to high positions, including palace chamberlain, and had recently been knighted into the Order of Santiago (the cross on his chest in the painting was likely added later).
One prominent theory is that the work served as a personal statement and perhaps a "thank-you" gift to Philip IV for this knighthood and recognition, affirming Velázquez's elevated status not as a mere craftsman but as a court official and intellectual equal among nobility.
The painting depicts Velázquez at his easel in his studio in the Alcázar palace, working on a large canvas (possibly the very one we see, or one portraying the king and queen reflected in the mirror). It includes the five-year-old Infanta Margarita Teresa surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting (meninas), dwarfs, a dog, and other court figures, with the royal couple reflected in a distant mirror.
The motivation appears multifaceted: to document royal life with unprecedented naturalism, assert his artistic authority, and subtly elevate the status of painting as a liberal art rather than a manual trade. The inclusion of his self-portrait in a prominent position—brush in hand, looking out—centers the artist as the creator and orchestrator of the scene.
Influences
Velázquez's style in Las Meninas draws from several key sources:
- Italian Baroque and Renaissance masters — His two trips to Italy (1629–1630 and 1649–1651) exposed him to artists like Titian (whose works he copied and whose loose brushwork influenced his technique) and elements of Caravaggio's chiaroscuro (strong contrasts of light and shadow for dramatic effect).
- Northern Renaissance — The mirror reflecting the king and queen echoes Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait (1434), which was in Philip IV's collection and uses reflection to expand space and involve the viewer.
- Flemish and Dutch traditions — References to Peter Paul Rubens (copies of his works hang on the back wall) and Dutch "gallery pictures" by artists like David Teniers the Younger (depicting art-filled rooms and collectors) may have shaped the composition's gallery-like setting and sense of informal visitation.
- Venetian influence — Loose, fluid brushstrokes for texture (especially in fabrics) show Venetian roots, anticipating Impressionist techniques.
- It shattered traditional portraiture conventions by blending group portrait, genre scene, and self-portrait.
- The complex, illusionistic perspective places the viewer in the position of the king and queen (reflected in the mirror), blurring boundaries between subject, artist, and observer.
- Velázquez's loose brushwork creates lifelike texture and movement from afar while appearing abstract up close—a precursor to modern techniques.
- It questions representation itself: Who is the true subject? What is being painted? This meta quality (a "painting about painting") anticipated conceptual art.
Legacy
The painting's influence is immense and enduring:
- Luca Giordano called it the "theology of painting" in the 17th century.
- It inspired 19th- and 20th-century artists: Francisco Goya, Édouard Manet, Impressionists (admired the brushwork), and especially Pablo Picasso, who created a series of 58 reinterpretations in 1957.
- Salvador Dalí produced surreal versions, and it has influenced conceptual and contemporary art.
- Philosophers, writers, and critics continue debating its meanings, cementing its status as a cornerstone of art history.
Please watch the video shared by TED-Ed.
1629 Bodegon of Fruit by van der Hamen y Leon
2019 SOLD for $ 6.5M by Christie's
Juan Sanchez Cotan is a painter in Toledo at the time of El Greco. In 1603 he leaves the world to enter as a lay brother in a Carthusian monastery. The inventory made in his studio just after his departure lists 60 paintings including 12 still lifes.
Sanchez Cotan wished to reproduce with the greatest pictorial accuracy some elements of nature that he positions in a balanced composition. Vegetables, fruit and game fowls are laying or hanging in a uniformly gray window frame against a black background. He had invented the bodegon, an unprecedented style in modern painting that anticipates Chardin and Cézanne.
Several originals survive. One of them is dated 1602. Another one, oil on canvas re-sized at 73 x 62 cm after removal of the central part, was sold for £ 4M by Christie's on December 8, 2004.
The growing interest in botanical gardens and cabinets of curiosity led to the still life paintings of flowers and fruit in Flanders and Milan from 1606. In the 1620s the best Spanish continuator to Sanchez Cotan, Juan van der Hamen y Leon, inserts flowers in the bodegones.
In 1626 van der Hamen finds a trick to display complex arrangements in very large formats : he replaces Sanchez Cotan's window by three stone bases of varying heights and widths.
A bodegon of fruit with a large vase of flowers, oil on canvas 86 x 132 cm painted by van der Hamen in 1629, was sold for $ 6.5M by Christie's on May 1, 2019, lot 109. Painted in the same year and style by the same artist, a bodegon of fruit with an artichoke, 79 x 100 cm, was sold for € 900K by Christie's on October 6, 2004.
Sanchez Cotan wished to reproduce with the greatest pictorial accuracy some elements of nature that he positions in a balanced composition. Vegetables, fruit and game fowls are laying or hanging in a uniformly gray window frame against a black background. He had invented the bodegon, an unprecedented style in modern painting that anticipates Chardin and Cézanne.
Several originals survive. One of them is dated 1602. Another one, oil on canvas re-sized at 73 x 62 cm after removal of the central part, was sold for £ 4M by Christie's on December 8, 2004.
The growing interest in botanical gardens and cabinets of curiosity led to the still life paintings of flowers and fruit in Flanders and Milan from 1606. In the 1620s the best Spanish continuator to Sanchez Cotan, Juan van der Hamen y Leon, inserts flowers in the bodegones.
In 1626 van der Hamen finds a trick to display complex arrangements in very large formats : he replaces Sanchez Cotan's window by three stone bases of varying heights and widths.
A bodegon of fruit with a large vase of flowers, oil on canvas 86 x 132 cm painted by van der Hamen in 1629, was sold for $ 6.5M by Christie's on May 1, 2019, lot 109. Painted in the same year and style by the same artist, a bodegon of fruit with an artichoke, 79 x 100 cm, was sold for € 900K by Christie's on October 6, 2004.
Christie’s to Sell Shickman Collection Led by Spanish Still Lives https://t.co/DUYZZPBEnR pic.twitter.com/xSsE0vtely
— Art Market Monitor (@artmarket) November 21, 2018
1637 Hearing by Ribera
2019 SOLD for £ 5.7M by Sotheby's
Born near Valencia, Ribera is attracted by Italy. In Rome, he is interested in the faces and attitudes of poor people, most certainly through an influence from the Caravaggesques of Utrecht. He paints a first series of the Five Senses, not without wit. Smell is a ragged beggar who peels an onion.
In 1616 Ribera, aged 25, arrives in Naples which is then a Spanish possession. He will never return to his country but wishes to state his origin by signing his works Jusepe de Ribera español. He is also nicknamed Lo Spagnoletto.
He paints other Senses in 1637 with allegories completely different from his earlier series. Hearing is a girl who plays the tambourine with an expression of deep happiness, personifying the pleasure of the senses. This oil on canvas 60 x 46 cm was sold for £ 5.7M by Sotheby's on July 3, 2019, lot 24.
This figure was painted by Ribera at the end of his tenebrist phase, with a black background in the style of his friend Velazquez. In the series of popular types, she thus appears in the continuity of his picturesque bearded milking woman (Mujer barbuda) painted in 1631.
Clearly a pendant of similar size with the Tambourine girl, Taste is a hilarious drunkard. Candidates have been proposed for Smell and Touch, but Sight remains unidentified, without evidence that this series has ever been complete.
In 1616 Ribera, aged 25, arrives in Naples which is then a Spanish possession. He will never return to his country but wishes to state his origin by signing his works Jusepe de Ribera español. He is also nicknamed Lo Spagnoletto.
He paints other Senses in 1637 with allegories completely different from his earlier series. Hearing is a girl who plays the tambourine with an expression of deep happiness, personifying the pleasure of the senses. This oil on canvas 60 x 46 cm was sold for £ 5.7M by Sotheby's on July 3, 2019, lot 24.
This figure was painted by Ribera at the end of his tenebrist phase, with a black background in the style of his friend Velazquez. In the series of popular types, she thus appears in the continuity of his picturesque bearded milking woman (Mujer barbuda) painted in 1631.
Clearly a pendant of similar size with the Tambourine girl, Taste is a hilarious drunkard. Candidates have been proposed for Smell and Touch, but Sight remains unidentified, without evidence that this series has ever been complete.
#AuctionUpdate On the Beat □: This charming portrait of a girl tapping a tambourine by Jusepe de Ribera makes a noise, singing to the tune of £5,743,000 – a new record for the artist. #SothebysOldMasters pic.twitter.com/R0OuYI9gJH
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) July 3, 2019
1664 The Wittelsbacher-Graff
2008 SOLD for £ 16.4M by Christie's
The Wittelsbacher is a diamond in an extremely rare color, an exceptional size and a royal provenance dating back to more than three centuries ago. This historic piece is contemporary with the Koh-I-Noor.
This Indian greyish-blue diamond weighing 35.56 carat of VS2 clarity is chosen in 1664 by King Philip IV of Spain to enter the dowry of his daughter, the Infanta Margarita Teresa. The princess is well known for being in 1656 the main character of the Meninas of Velazquez. So this diamond is a contemporary of the royal glory of the Koh-I-Noor, the Regent and the Orlov. Entered in the Bavarian royal family by a marriage in 1722, it was then known as Blaue Wittelsbacher.
It was sold by Christie's in 1931 with the crown jewelry of Bavaria, and for £ 16.4M on December 10, 2008, lot 212. It has been purchased at the latter sale by Graff Diamonds. Its image before being recut by Graff is shared by Wikimedia.
The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond is one of the world's most famous and historically significant blue diamonds, renowned for its deep color, rarity as a Type IIb diamond, and a provenance spanning over 400 years from Indian mines to European royalty, private collections, and modern controversy.
Origins and Early History (Mid-1600s–1664)
The diamond was mined in the mid-1600s from the legendary Kollur Mine in the Golconda region (Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India), the same source as other historic gems like the Hope Diamond. It was likely discovered during the Golconda Sultanate era, with early ownership possibly linked to the Nawabs of Punjab. The rough crystal was cut into a 35.56-carat fancy deep grayish-blue diamond (VS2 clarity, Type IIb), with an unusual 82-facet pattern (including vertically split star facets on the crown and needle-like pavilion facets), measuring about 24.4 mm in diameter and 8.29 mm in depth.
Its earliest documented record dates to 1664, when it entered the collection of King Philip IV of Spain (though some accounts of it as part of his daughter Infanta Margaret Teresa's dowry to Emperor Leopold I of Austria in her 1666 marriage are considered apocryphal or unproven, due to lost Spanish archives during the 1936–1939 Civil War).
Habsburg and Transition to Wittelsbach Ownership (Late 1600s–1722)
After passing through Habsburg hands (including to Empress Eleonore Magdalena and then Archduchess Maria Amalia), the diamond entered the House of Wittelsbach in 1722 when Maria Amalia married Bavarian Crown Prince Charles Albert (later Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII). It is depicted as the centerpiece in her hair ornament in a 1722 bridal portrait by Frans van Stampart.It became a key piece of the Bavarian Crown Jewels, set in various royal regalia:
Disappearance, Resurfacing, and Private Ownership (1931–2008)
In 1931, amid the Great Depression and Bavaria's republican status, the Wittelsbach family consigned it (with other crown jewels) to Christie's London for auction to support the deposed royals. Bids reached only £5,400 (below reserve), and in a mysterious incident, the diamond vanished before the sale—replaced by a worthless piece of blue cut glass. It disappeared from view for decades.
It resurfaced in Belgium around 1951. In 1958, it was anonymously displayed at the Brussels World Expo. In 1962, Belgian diamond expert Joseph Komkommer identified it, refused to recut it due to its historical value, and helped a group of dealers/investors acquire it to preserve it. From 1964, it stayed in private hands, including reportedly gifted by Helmut Horten to his wife Heidi.
The original Wittelsbach Diamond (pre-recut) is highlighting a deep grayish-blue hue and historic faceting.
2008 Auction and Recutting (2008–2010)
On December 10, 2008, Christie's sold the 35.56-carat Wittelsbach Diamond in London to jeweler Laurence Graff for £16.4 million (about US$24.3 million), a then-record for any diamond at auction.Graff recut it in secret (by three cutters) to remove girdle damage, chips, and flaws, reducing it by over 4.5 carats to 31.06 carats. The result: upgraded to fancy deep blue (intensified color, no grayish modifier) and internally flawless clarity (from VS2/VS1), in a modern antique oval stellar brilliant cut.
Renamed the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond, this sparked major controversy—critics (including gem historians and cutters) decried it as destroying centuries of history and cultural heritage, likening it to vandalizing a Rembrandt or Leonardo da Vinci work. Graff defended it as enhancing beauty and perfection without sin.
The recut Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond is hoghlighting a deeper blue tone, flawless clarity, and brilliant modern faceting.
Later Ownership and Displays (2010–Present)
In 2010, Graff displayed it publicly (first time in over 50 years) at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History alongside the Hope Diamond (January–September 2010), allowing GIA analysis confirming shared Indian origins and similar traits but not the same rough stone.Graff sold it privately in 2011 to Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (former Emir of Qatar) for an estimated US$80 million or more.
As of recent records, it remains in private ownership (likely with the Qatari royal family), valued highly as one of the finest blue diamonds known. It has not been publicly auctioned or displayed since the 2010 Smithsonian exhibit.
This storied gem bridges ancient mining, royal intrigue, mystery, and modern gem ethics—its journey reflecting both preservation and transformation of historical treasures.
This Indian greyish-blue diamond weighing 35.56 carat of VS2 clarity is chosen in 1664 by King Philip IV of Spain to enter the dowry of his daughter, the Infanta Margarita Teresa. The princess is well known for being in 1656 the main character of the Meninas of Velazquez. So this diamond is a contemporary of the royal glory of the Koh-I-Noor, the Regent and the Orlov. Entered in the Bavarian royal family by a marriage in 1722, it was then known as Blaue Wittelsbacher.
It was sold by Christie's in 1931 with the crown jewelry of Bavaria, and for £ 16.4M on December 10, 2008, lot 212. It has been purchased at the latter sale by Graff Diamonds. Its image before being recut by Graff is shared by Wikimedia.
The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond is one of the world's most famous and historically significant blue diamonds, renowned for its deep color, rarity as a Type IIb diamond, and a provenance spanning over 400 years from Indian mines to European royalty, private collections, and modern controversy.
Origins and Early History (Mid-1600s–1664)
The diamond was mined in the mid-1600s from the legendary Kollur Mine in the Golconda region (Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India), the same source as other historic gems like the Hope Diamond. It was likely discovered during the Golconda Sultanate era, with early ownership possibly linked to the Nawabs of Punjab. The rough crystal was cut into a 35.56-carat fancy deep grayish-blue diamond (VS2 clarity, Type IIb), with an unusual 82-facet pattern (including vertically split star facets on the crown and needle-like pavilion facets), measuring about 24.4 mm in diameter and 8.29 mm in depth.
Its earliest documented record dates to 1664, when it entered the collection of King Philip IV of Spain (though some accounts of it as part of his daughter Infanta Margaret Teresa's dowry to Emperor Leopold I of Austria in her 1666 marriage are considered apocryphal or unproven, due to lost Spanish archives during the 1936–1939 Civil War).
Habsburg and Transition to Wittelsbach Ownership (Late 1600s–1722)
After passing through Habsburg hands (including to Empress Eleonore Magdalena and then Archduchess Maria Amalia), the diamond entered the House of Wittelsbach in 1722 when Maria Amalia married Bavarian Crown Prince Charles Albert (later Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII). It is depicted as the centerpiece in her hair ornament in a 1722 bridal portrait by Frans van Stampart.It became a key piece of the Bavarian Crown Jewels, set in various royal regalia:
- In 1745, mounted on the Bavarian Elector's Order of the Golden Fleece.
- In 1806, placed prominently beneath the cross on the royal crown commissioned by Maximilian IV Joseph, Bavaria's first king.
- Featured in portraits, such as King Ludwig I's coronation robes (1826 painting by Joseph Stieler).
Disappearance, Resurfacing, and Private Ownership (1931–2008)
In 1931, amid the Great Depression and Bavaria's republican status, the Wittelsbach family consigned it (with other crown jewels) to Christie's London for auction to support the deposed royals. Bids reached only £5,400 (below reserve), and in a mysterious incident, the diamond vanished before the sale—replaced by a worthless piece of blue cut glass. It disappeared from view for decades.
It resurfaced in Belgium around 1951. In 1958, it was anonymously displayed at the Brussels World Expo. In 1962, Belgian diamond expert Joseph Komkommer identified it, refused to recut it due to its historical value, and helped a group of dealers/investors acquire it to preserve it. From 1964, it stayed in private hands, including reportedly gifted by Helmut Horten to his wife Heidi.
The original Wittelsbach Diamond (pre-recut) is highlighting a deep grayish-blue hue and historic faceting.
2008 Auction and Recutting (2008–2010)
On December 10, 2008, Christie's sold the 35.56-carat Wittelsbach Diamond in London to jeweler Laurence Graff for £16.4 million (about US$24.3 million), a then-record for any diamond at auction.Graff recut it in secret (by three cutters) to remove girdle damage, chips, and flaws, reducing it by over 4.5 carats to 31.06 carats. The result: upgraded to fancy deep blue (intensified color, no grayish modifier) and internally flawless clarity (from VS2/VS1), in a modern antique oval stellar brilliant cut.
Renamed the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond, this sparked major controversy—critics (including gem historians and cutters) decried it as destroying centuries of history and cultural heritage, likening it to vandalizing a Rembrandt or Leonardo da Vinci work. Graff defended it as enhancing beauty and perfection without sin.
The recut Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond is hoghlighting a deeper blue tone, flawless clarity, and brilliant modern faceting.
Later Ownership and Displays (2010–Present)
In 2010, Graff displayed it publicly (first time in over 50 years) at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History alongside the Hope Diamond (January–September 2010), allowing GIA analysis confirming shared Indian origins and similar traits but not the same rough stone.Graff sold it privately in 2011 to Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (former Emir of Qatar) for an estimated US$80 million or more.
As of recent records, it remains in private ownership (likely with the Qatari royal family), valued highly as one of the finest blue diamonds known. It has not been publicly auctioned or displayed since the 2010 Smithsonian exhibit.
This storied gem bridges ancient mining, royal intrigue, mystery, and modern gem ethics—its journey reflecting both preservation and transformation of historical treasures.
1760s Still Life with Cauliflower by Melendez
2025 SOLD for $ 6.3M by Sotheby's
Francisco Melendez was a miniaturist painter in the service of Felipe V. When the king created the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Don Francisco was invited to participate. He lucklessly remembered that he had suggested to the king such an institution a few years earlier and claimed to be considered as its founder. Expelled from the academy in 1748, he dragged his son Luis into the same disgrace.
Luis Melendez was a talented artist but like his father he was arrogant. The major themes and the court portraits being now forbidden to him, he specializes in still lifes with chiaroscuro in the tradition of Zurbaran.
Between 1759 and 1774 Luis produces a series of 44 paintings for the natural history cabinet of the Prince of Asturias, later King Carlos IV, on the unique theme of the glorification of fruit and vegetables produced by Spanish soil, accompanied by local utensils. 39 of them are kept in the Prado Museum.
These elements are arranged harmoniously on a table in front of a dark background, with great care applied to drawing, texture and light. In the same time range he also painted variants for his own business.
In an upright format, an oil on canvas featuring on a wooden table a dominant cauliflower accompanied by a basket with eggs and by brown paper, leeks, fish and assorted kitchen utensils 50 x 37 cm was sold for $ 6.3M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Sotheby's on May 21, 2025, lot 39. This set of ingredients is clearly related with the abstinence from meat during Lent.
In the same format with a panoramic orientation, an oil on canvas featuring oranges, nuts, spices, boxes of sweetmeats, a jug and a cask on a table was sold for £ 3.5M by Christie's on February 9, 2012, lot 642.
In the same horizontal format, an arrangement with arbutus berries on a plate, apples, a wood barrel and bread rolls was sold for $ 4M by Christie's on January 29, 2004, lot 83.
In 1771 and 1772 for the same prince, Melendez made four more ambitious paintings, 80 cm wide, in which he placed the fruits and vegetables in the very close foreground of a stylized Spanish landscape. These works are also in the Prado. Again disgraced for his arrogance around 1776, this time after claiming excessive prices for his art, this too skilled artist died in poverty in 1780.
Luis Melendez was a talented artist but like his father he was arrogant. The major themes and the court portraits being now forbidden to him, he specializes in still lifes with chiaroscuro in the tradition of Zurbaran.
Between 1759 and 1774 Luis produces a series of 44 paintings for the natural history cabinet of the Prince of Asturias, later King Carlos IV, on the unique theme of the glorification of fruit and vegetables produced by Spanish soil, accompanied by local utensils. 39 of them are kept in the Prado Museum.
These elements are arranged harmoniously on a table in front of a dark background, with great care applied to drawing, texture and light. In the same time range he also painted variants for his own business.
In an upright format, an oil on canvas featuring on a wooden table a dominant cauliflower accompanied by a basket with eggs and by brown paper, leeks, fish and assorted kitchen utensils 50 x 37 cm was sold for $ 6.3M from a lower estimate of $ 5M by Sotheby's on May 21, 2025, lot 39. This set of ingredients is clearly related with the abstinence from meat during Lent.
In the same format with a panoramic orientation, an oil on canvas featuring oranges, nuts, spices, boxes of sweetmeats, a jug and a cask on a table was sold for £ 3.5M by Christie's on February 9, 2012, lot 642.
In the same horizontal format, an arrangement with arbutus berries on a plate, apples, a wood barrel and bread rolls was sold for $ 4M by Christie's on January 29, 2004, lot 83.
In 1771 and 1772 for the same prince, Melendez made four more ambitious paintings, 80 cm wide, in which he placed the fruits and vegetables in the very close foreground of a stylized Spanish landscape. These works are also in the Prado. Again disgraced for his arrogance around 1776, this time after claiming excessive prices for his art, this too skilled artist died in poverty in 1780.
GOYA
Intro
Psychological evaluation from life and art of Goya.
Francisco Goya (1746–1828) underwent a profound psychological transformation over his lifetime, shaped by personal trauma, physical decline, political upheaval, and existential disillusionment. While no formal clinical diagnosis exists from his era, art historians, medical scholars, and psychologists have reconstructed a profile based on his letters, biographies, documented illnesses, and—most tellingly—his evolving body of work. Goya's art serves as a visual diary of his inner world, shifting from buoyant courtly optimism to profound pessimism, fear, and horror.
Early Life and Personality Traits
Goya was described as having a lively temperament, quick temper, and portentous imagination—traits that fueled his ambition and success as a court painter. He was socially adept, ambitious, and capable of navigating the intrigues of the Spanish royal court, producing flattering portraits and tapestries in the Rococo style. His early works show keen observation of human character, subtle psychological depth, and realism rather than idealization. He exhibited resilience and adaptability, rising from humble origins to become First Court Painter.
However, even in youth, hints of inner turmoil appeared—perhaps linked to personal losses (e.g., the deaths of several children) and professional setbacks. His correspondence reveals a man aware of human folly, superstition, and power dynamics.
The 1793 Illness: A Pivotal Turning Point
At age 46, Goya suffered a severe, mysterious illness (symptoms: vertigo, tinnitus, vision loss, paralysis, hallucinations, depression) that left him permanently deaf. Theories include Susac’s syndrome, viral encephalitis, lead poisoning (from paints), syphilis, malaria, or typhus. The deafness isolated him socially—conversations became difficult, leading to withdrawal, diffidence, and heightened introspection. Contemporaries noted bouts of depression, hypochondria, and "raving moods" during recovery.
This event marked a psychological rupture. Goya later wrote of works that "occupy my imagination, tormented as it is by contemplation of my sufferings." Deafness amplified his sense of vulnerability and alienation, contributing to paranoia about relapse and fear of losing his mind. His art darkened: from the satirical Caprichos (1799), critiquing superstition and societal vice, to Yard with Lunatics (1794), showing empathy toward the mentally ill rather than monstrosity.
Mid-to-Late Life: Trauma, Depression, and Disillusionment
Goya endured repeated depressive episodes (notably around 1792–93 and 1819). He witnessed the Peninsular War (1808–1814)—Napoleonic invasion, mass executions, guerrilla violence—and the subsequent absolutist repression under Ferdinand VII. This fueled profound cynicism toward humanity, power, religion, and war.
His Disasters of War prints (1810–1820) and paintings like The Third of May 1808 express raw horror at collective brutality and individual suffering. By his 70s, living in near-isolation at the Quinta del Sordo ("House of the Deaf Man"), he painted the Black Paintings (1819–1823) directly on his walls—private, never intended for exhibition. These 14 murals (e.g., Saturn Devouring His Son, Witches' Sabbath, The Dog) depict cannibalism, madness, despair, aging, and existential dread.
Psychological interpretations include:
Goya was not "mad" in a clinical sense but a lucid witness to madness—personal, societal, and universal. His art immortalizes the human capacity for darkness while affirming the redemptive power of unflinching expression.
Francisco Goya (1746–1828) underwent a profound psychological transformation over his lifetime, shaped by personal trauma, physical decline, political upheaval, and existential disillusionment. While no formal clinical diagnosis exists from his era, art historians, medical scholars, and psychologists have reconstructed a profile based on his letters, biographies, documented illnesses, and—most tellingly—his evolving body of work. Goya's art serves as a visual diary of his inner world, shifting from buoyant courtly optimism to profound pessimism, fear, and horror.
Early Life and Personality Traits
Goya was described as having a lively temperament, quick temper, and portentous imagination—traits that fueled his ambition and success as a court painter. He was socially adept, ambitious, and capable of navigating the intrigues of the Spanish royal court, producing flattering portraits and tapestries in the Rococo style. His early works show keen observation of human character, subtle psychological depth, and realism rather than idealization. He exhibited resilience and adaptability, rising from humble origins to become First Court Painter.
However, even in youth, hints of inner turmoil appeared—perhaps linked to personal losses (e.g., the deaths of several children) and professional setbacks. His correspondence reveals a man aware of human folly, superstition, and power dynamics.
The 1793 Illness: A Pivotal Turning Point
At age 46, Goya suffered a severe, mysterious illness (symptoms: vertigo, tinnitus, vision loss, paralysis, hallucinations, depression) that left him permanently deaf. Theories include Susac’s syndrome, viral encephalitis, lead poisoning (from paints), syphilis, malaria, or typhus. The deafness isolated him socially—conversations became difficult, leading to withdrawal, diffidence, and heightened introspection. Contemporaries noted bouts of depression, hypochondria, and "raving moods" during recovery.
This event marked a psychological rupture. Goya later wrote of works that "occupy my imagination, tormented as it is by contemplation of my sufferings." Deafness amplified his sense of vulnerability and alienation, contributing to paranoia about relapse and fear of losing his mind. His art darkened: from the satirical Caprichos (1799), critiquing superstition and societal vice, to Yard with Lunatics (1794), showing empathy toward the mentally ill rather than monstrosity.
Mid-to-Late Life: Trauma, Depression, and Disillusionment
Goya endured repeated depressive episodes (notably around 1792–93 and 1819). He witnessed the Peninsular War (1808–1814)—Napoleonic invasion, mass executions, guerrilla violence—and the subsequent absolutist repression under Ferdinand VII. This fueled profound cynicism toward humanity, power, religion, and war.
His Disasters of War prints (1810–1820) and paintings like The Third of May 1808 express raw horror at collective brutality and individual suffering. By his 70s, living in near-isolation at the Quinta del Sordo ("House of the Deaf Man"), he painted the Black Paintings (1819–1823) directly on his walls—private, never intended for exhibition. These 14 murals (e.g., Saturn Devouring His Son, Witches' Sabbath, The Dog) depict cannibalism, madness, despair, aging, and existential dread.
Psychological interpretations include:
- Fear of insanity and mortality (tormented by hallucinations during illness).
- Paranoia and anxiety about societal collapse.
- Depression and hopelessness (dark palette, isolated figures, themes of devouring/time consuming life).
- Possible bipolar tendencies (some scholars suggest manic creativity post-depression).
- Trauma responses akin to PTSD from war and personal losses.
- Resilient yet volatile personality — ambitious and socially skilled early on, but increasingly withdrawn and irritable.
- Recurrent major depression — linked to illness, isolation, and historical horrors.
- Anxiety and hypochondria — fear of relapse and madness.
- Profound existential pessimism — viewing humanity as driven by fear, superstition, violence, and folly.
Goya was not "mad" in a clinical sense but a lucid witness to madness—personal, societal, and universal. His art immortalizes the human capacity for darkness while affirming the redemptive power of unflinching expression.
1
masterpiece
1797-1800 Maja Desnuda and Maja Vestida
Prado
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
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2
masterpiece
1800-1805 Maja Vestida by Goya
Prado
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
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3
1805 the Barruso portraits
2023 SOLD for $ 16.4M by Christie's
The burguesia is emerging at the turn of the 19th century. The wealthy bourgeois desire to live like new aristocrats.
Francisco Goya was appointed in 1789 First Court painter to the King. From 1804 he accepts bourgeois sitters for his business. Don Salvador Barruso was a textile merchant involved with the Royal Factories at Talavera.
Don Salvador commissions to Goya in 1805 the portraits of his wife and daughter, which are executed as a pair of oils on canvas of same size, 105 x 84 cm.
It is usual in such pairs to attribute the left picture to the most important character. Here the left is the still childish Maria, nearly fifteen year old. Both are seated, and dressed in the French high waisted fashion of that time. Maria has on her lap a pet bichon dog, a symbol of fidelity. Under the protection of her mother, she is featured as ready for wedding. She will marry two years later and die after childbirth in 1810.
The scarcity of this pair is the featuring of a mother and daughter as pendants, but it is remarkable by the extreme skill of Goya, rightly considered at that time as a worthy successor to Raphael.
The tightly woven canvas was smoothed with a bright brick colored primer enabling to paint in very thin layers. No underdrawing is revealed in infra red reflectography. A painted sketch had dried before the final layer was applied. The surface is remaining pristine.
Fortunately the pair has not been separated. It was sold for $ 16.4M by Christie's on January 25, 2023, lot 138.
Francisco Goya was appointed in 1789 First Court painter to the King. From 1804 he accepts bourgeois sitters for his business. Don Salvador Barruso was a textile merchant involved with the Royal Factories at Talavera.
Don Salvador commissions to Goya in 1805 the portraits of his wife and daughter, which are executed as a pair of oils on canvas of same size, 105 x 84 cm.
It is usual in such pairs to attribute the left picture to the most important character. Here the left is the still childish Maria, nearly fifteen year old. Both are seated, and dressed in the French high waisted fashion of that time. Maria has on her lap a pet bichon dog, a symbol of fidelity. Under the protection of her mother, she is featured as ready for wedding. She will marry two years later and die after childbirth in 1810.
The scarcity of this pair is the featuring of a mother and daughter as pendants, but it is remarkable by the extreme skill of Goya, rightly considered at that time as a worthy successor to Raphael.
The tightly woven canvas was smoothed with a bright brick colored primer enabling to paint in very thin layers. No underdrawing is revealed in infra red reflectography. A painted sketch had dried before the final layer was applied. The surface is remaining pristine.
Fortunately the pair has not been separated. It was sold for $ 16.4M by Christie's on January 25, 2023, lot 138.
4
1808-1812 Dead Hares
2003 SOLD for $ 5.1M by Christie's
In 1808 the outbreak of the war of independence against the French invader had a major impact on the life and art of Goya. His Disasters of War are the most atrocious images in the history of art.
At 62, the artist no longer needs his art to earn a living and, in these difficult circumstances, he has fewer clients. He had a bulimia of innovations throughout his life. He is trying the theme of still life for the first time in his career.
The twelve still lifes painted by Goya surfaced after 1865. They had remained grouped together in the artist's estate and then in a mortgage which had ended in a transfer in favor of a business partner of Mariano, the grandson of the artist.
Goya had attempted in this set to completely renew the theme of still life. Dead animals are no longer decorative objects or hunting trophies, but beings whose lives have been violently taken by humans for culinary purposes. The beginning of the war is the terminus post quem. The terminus ante quem is their reference in an inventory in 1812.
Goya used the best of his pictorial technique, combining veils of color and heavy impastos, placed with brushes, knife and fingers. The animals are different on each opus. The realistic flesh ready for decomposition attests to the importance of death in the artist's creativity.
On January 24, 2003, Christie's sold at lot 136 for $ 5.1M an oil on canvas 45 x 63 cm showing two dead hares lying on top of each other on a table.
At 62, the artist no longer needs his art to earn a living and, in these difficult circumstances, he has fewer clients. He had a bulimia of innovations throughout his life. He is trying the theme of still life for the first time in his career.
The twelve still lifes painted by Goya surfaced after 1865. They had remained grouped together in the artist's estate and then in a mortgage which had ended in a transfer in favor of a business partner of Mariano, the grandson of the artist.
Goya had attempted in this set to completely renew the theme of still life. Dead animals are no longer decorative objects or hunting trophies, but beings whose lives have been violently taken by humans for culinary purposes. The beginning of the war is the terminus post quem. The terminus ante quem is their reference in an inventory in 1812.
Goya used the best of his pictorial technique, combining veils of color and heavy impastos, placed with brushes, knife and fingers. The animals are different on each opus. The realistic flesh ready for decomposition attests to the importance of death in the artist's creativity.
On January 24, 2003, Christie's sold at lot 136 for $ 5.1M an oil on canvas 45 x 63 cm showing two dead hares lying on top of each other on a table.
5
masterpiece
1814 Tres de Mayo
Prado
Tres de Mayo by Goya (Prado) : artist's motivation and influences, breakthrough and legacy.
Francisco Goya's The Third of May 1808 (El tres de mayo de 1808 en Madrid), housed in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, is one of the most powerful and influential paintings in art history. Completed in 1814, it depicts the execution by French soldiers of Spanish civilians who participated in the uprising against Napoleon's forces on May 3, 1808, following the Dos de Mayo revolt the previous day.
Artist's Motivation
Goya, who had served as court painter to the Spanish monarchy (including under Charles IV and briefly under Joseph Bonaparte during the French occupation), was profoundly affected by the horrors of the Peninsular War (1808–1814). Although he had shown some French sympathies earlier, the brutal repression of his countrymen shifted his perspective toward denouncing war's inhumanity.
In 1814, after Ferdinand VII was restored to the throne and the French were expelled, Goya himself proposed to the provisional Spanish government to create paintings commemorating "the most notable and heroic actions" of the 1808 insurrection against the "Tyrant of Europe" (Napoleon). This resulted in two companion pieces: The Second of May 1808 (the uprising) and The Third of May 1808 (the executions). The works served as patriotic propaganda celebrating Spanish resistance while exposing the savagery of war. Goya's motivation blended national pride with a deeper anti-war sentiment, evident in his related series The Disasters of War (Los Desastres de la Guerra), which graphically condemned violence without taking clear sides.
The central figure—a man in white with arms outstretched in a Christ-like pose—symbolizes innocence, martyrdom, and the Spanish people as victims of tyranny. Goya dressed him in white to proclaim innocence, turning him into an everyman hero rather than a specific individual.
Influences
Goya drew from various sources while breaking from tradition:
Breakthrough
The Third of May 1808 represented a major breakthrough in art:
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The image is shared by Wikimedoa.
Francisco Goya's The Third of May 1808 (El tres de mayo de 1808 en Madrid), housed in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, is one of the most powerful and influential paintings in art history. Completed in 1814, it depicts the execution by French soldiers of Spanish civilians who participated in the uprising against Napoleon's forces on May 3, 1808, following the Dos de Mayo revolt the previous day.
Artist's Motivation
Goya, who had served as court painter to the Spanish monarchy (including under Charles IV and briefly under Joseph Bonaparte during the French occupation), was profoundly affected by the horrors of the Peninsular War (1808–1814). Although he had shown some French sympathies earlier, the brutal repression of his countrymen shifted his perspective toward denouncing war's inhumanity.
In 1814, after Ferdinand VII was restored to the throne and the French were expelled, Goya himself proposed to the provisional Spanish government to create paintings commemorating "the most notable and heroic actions" of the 1808 insurrection against the "Tyrant of Europe" (Napoleon). This resulted in two companion pieces: The Second of May 1808 (the uprising) and The Third of May 1808 (the executions). The works served as patriotic propaganda celebrating Spanish resistance while exposing the savagery of war. Goya's motivation blended national pride with a deeper anti-war sentiment, evident in his related series The Disasters of War (Los Desastres de la Guerra), which graphically condemned violence without taking clear sides.
The central figure—a man in white with arms outstretched in a Christ-like pose—symbolizes innocence, martyrdom, and the Spanish people as victims of tyranny. Goya dressed him in white to proclaim innocence, turning him into an everyman hero rather than a specific individual.
Influences
Goya drew from various sources while breaking from tradition:
- Popular imagery and prints — depictions of firing squads were common in Spanish broadsides and political art during the Napoleonic Wars.
- Contemporary French works — he may have responded to Antoine-Jean Gros's Capitulation of Madrid (showing the French occupation favorably), subverting heroic propaganda.
- Religious iconography — the central figure echoes Christ on the cross or in the Garden of Gethsemane, drawing on Goya's earlier religious paintings.
- Baroque drama — influences from artists like Rubens or earlier Spanish masters appear in the emotional intensity and chiaroscuro (strong contrasts of light and dark).
Breakthrough
The Third of May 1808 represented a major breakthrough in art:
- It is often called one of the first modern paintings for its departure from academic conventions: no heroic glorification, focus on anonymous victims, emphasis on psychological horror over narrative clarity, and innovative use of light and shadow to heighten drama.
- It pioneered anti-war imagery by showing war's brutality without glorifying either side—the French soldiers are faceless and mechanical, emphasizing dehumanization.
- Painted quickly (in just weeks), its loose technique and emotional charge anticipated later movements like Realism and Expressionism.
- It influenced Édouard Manet's The Execution of Emperor Maximilian (1867–1869), which borrowed its composition and anti-authoritarian tone.
- Pablo Picasso drew directly from it in Guernica (1937) and Massacre in Korea (1951), using similar motifs of execution and horror to protest war.
- It set a template for depicting modern atrocities, emphasizing victims' humanity over victors' glory, influencing 20th- and 21st-century anti-war art.
- Today, it is celebrated as a timeless indictment of violence, a symbol of Spanish resistance, and a cornerstone of the Prado's collection—one of the museum's 14 most important works (scanned in ultra-high resolution for Google Earth in 2009).
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The image is shared by Wikimedoa.
