1806, Francisco Goya, Doña Francisca Vicenta Chollet y Caballero -- Norton Simon Museum (Pasadena)
From the museum label: Francisco de Goya was at the height of his career in 1806 and, as First Court Painter to Charles IV, King of Spain, he produced official portraits for the royal family and members of the court circle. The fashionable portrait of a noblewoman evidences the Spanish master's technique in all its glory. A sofa upholstered with a rich burgundy damask fabric is the only furnishing. At left, an inscription provides the woman's identity, along with the date and the artist's signature. If her indirect, possibly self-conscious gaze hinders an assessment of her personality, Goya's virtuosic brushwork, picking out the elements of her silk dress, her dazzling jewels -- including her jeweled hair ornament known as a piocha -- and her faithful companion, are wondrous to behold. The rich, impastoed surface of the canvas vividly conveys a sense of the artist in action.
1806, Francisco Goya, Doña Francisca Vicenta Chollet y Caballero -- Norton Simon Museum (Pasadena)
From the museum label: Francisco de Goya was at the height of his career in 1806 and, as First Court Painter to Charles IV, King of Spain, he produced official portraits for the royal family and members of the court circle. The fashionable portrait of a noblewoman evidences the Spanish master's technique in all its glory. A sofa upholstered with a rich burgundy damask fabric is the only furnishing. At left, an inscription provides the woman's identity, along with the date and the artist's signature. If her indirect, possibly self-conscious gaze hinders an assessment of her personality, Goya's virtuosic brushwork, picking out the elements of her silk dress, her dazzling jewels -- including her jeweled hair ornament known as a piocha -- and her faithful companion, are wondrous to behold. The rich, impastoed surface of the canvas vividly conveys a sense of the artist in action.