Portrait of Don Francisco de Saavedra
- Artist: Francisco de Goya y Lucientes
- Date: 1798
- Medium: medium : material : oil; support : material : canvas
- Museum: The Courtauld Gallery
- Collection record: The Courtauld Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is the Portrait of Don Francisco de Saavedra by Francisco de Goya y Lucientes. Goya was already renowned for his court portraits, yet in this 1798 work he takes a decidedly informal route. The brushwork is loose, almost hurried, which contrasts sharply with the polished, formal full-length portraits that were the norm of the era. You can see this in how quickly he renders the sitter’s silk coat and the papers and inkwells on the table, each suggestion of texture captured in just a few strokes. Only Don Francisco’s face and hands receive the thick, careful modeling that brings out the sitter’s features and the subtle play of light on his skin.
Don Francisco de Saavedra was the Spanish Minister of Finance at the time, and he posed for Goya at the behest of his friend, the Minister of Justice, Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos. Both men were proponents of reform and shared a brief period of progressive thinking in the conservative Spanish government. Jovellanos later commissioned a portrait of himself from Goya, now housed in the Prado Museum in Madrid. This painting is a fine example of Goya’s ability to blend speed with precision, capturing not only the likeness but also the intellectual spirit of his patrons.
See it in person
Portrait of Don Francisco de Saavedra hangs in The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, London. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
