The great project shown rising in the background of this drawing might be the Madrid Opera House or the column in Buen Retiro Park, both of which were under construction by 1819. But as in so much of Goya’s work, events and locations provided an opportunity to explore freely; ostensible realism was a vehicle for delving into other concerns. This drawing might relate to page 45 from the album (35.103.30) of a radiant woman, which has been interpreted as an allegory of constitutional Spain attacked by authoritarian forces. In that context, perhaps the present sheet refers to rebuilding a democratic system through common endeavor.
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Inscription: Numbered in brush and brown ink upper right: '46'; to the right of which in pen and dark ink: '31' [pertaining to Fortuny Album I, no. 31].
Javier Goya y Bayeu, (from 1828); Mariano Goya y Goicoechea (Spanish), (from 1854); Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz (Spanish), (from ca. 1855–1863); Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, (by gift in 1894)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Spain: Drawings, Prints and Photographs," April 18–July 16, 1989.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Goya in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," September 12–December 31, 1995.
Hayward Gallery. "Goya: Drawings from His Private Albums," February 22, 2001–May 13, 2001.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Drawings and Prints: Selections from the Permanent Collection," January 27–April 28, 2003.
Zaragoza Museum. "Goya y el mundo moderno," December 18, 2008–March 8, 2009.
Museo Nacional del Prado. "Drawings by Goya," November 19, 2019–February 16, 2020.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Goya’s Graphic Imagination," February 8–May 2, 2021.
Gassier and Wilson 1971, no.1471; Gassier 1973, no. F46 [316]
An Exhibition of the Work of Goya Exh. cat., Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale. Paris, 1935, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, Goya Exhibition, 1935, also Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1936.
Francisco Goya : his paintings, drawings and prints. Exh. cat.: MMA January 27 - March 8. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1936, Metropolitan Museum of Art, An Exhibition of the Work of Goya, 1936, also Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, 1935.
Harry B. Wehle "An Album of Goya's Drawings" in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. vol. 31, New York, February 1936, Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. XXXI, 1936 (Feb. ), pp. 23-28 (incl. bibliography)., pp. 23-28.
A Survey of Spanish Painting Through Goya. Baltimore, 1937, (listed).(gives exhibitions and references), fig. no. 36.
An Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings, and Prints by Francisco Goya. San Francisco, 1937, California Palace of the Legion of Honor. (listed), pl. 33 (ill.) (gives ex colls and exhibitions), fig. no. 33, p. 38.
Harry B. Wehle "Fifty Drawings by Francisco Goya." MMA Papers no. 7. New York, 1938.
Robert Thomas Stoll Drawings by Francisco Goya. New York and London, 1954, New York and London, 1954, p. 26, no. 45 (dates it 1818-19), pl. 45 (ill.), fig. no. 45, p. 26.
Goya: Drawings and Prints. Exh. cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1955, Metropolitan Museum of Art catalogue supplement, no. 219., fig. no. 219.
Pierre Gassier, Juliet Wilson Bareau Goya His Life and Work. London, 1971, (ill. and Listed)., fig. no. 1471, part III, p. 293, ill.
Pierre Gassier Francisco Goya Drawings, The Complete Albums. New York, 1973, ill. plate F. 46, p. 428, fig. no. 316, p. 485, ill.
A. Hyatt Mayor Goya: 67 Drawings. Exh. cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1974, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1974, no. 43, repr, fig. no. 43.
Pierre Gassier The Drawings of Goya. 1975, fig. no. 331, p. 502, ill.
Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez, Eleanor Sayre Goya and the Spirit of Enlightenment. Exh. cat. Museo del Prado, October 6-December 18, 1988 ; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, January 18-March 26, l989 ; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, May 9-July 16, 1989 (English edition). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, 1988, (English edition of exhibition catalogue: Madrid-Boston-New York), Boston, 1989, pp. 332-333, no. 149, repr. (drawing not exhibited in Boston or New York; see Exhibition card) see Bibliography for Spanish edition of catalogue.
Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez, Eleanor Sayre Goya y espíritu de la ilustración. Spanish edition of exhibition catalogue: Madrid-Boston-New York, 1988. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Spanish. Spain, 1988, Spanish edition of exhibition catalogue: 1988 Madrid-Boston-New York, (Drawing exhibited in Madrid only; see Exhibition card) pp. 422-423, no. 149, repr., fig. no. 149, pp. 422–23.
Colta Ives, Susan Alyson Stein Goya in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., September 12 - December 31. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1995, Baticle, Jeannine. Goya. Paris: Fayard, 1992.
Delteil, Loys. Le peinture graveur illustré. Vols. 14 and 15, Francisco Goya. Paris, 1922.
Gassier, Pierre. Francisco Goya, Drawings: The Complete Albums. Translated by James Emmons and Robert Allen.
Juliet Wilson Bareau, Tom Lubbock Goya: Drawings From His Private Albums. Exh. cat., Hayward Gallery, London, February 22-May 13, 2001. London, 2001, cat. no. 57, p. 184, ill.
Valeriano Bozal Goya y el mundo moderno. Barcelona, 2008, cat. no. 32, p. 135, ill.
Mark McDonald Goya's Graphic Imagination. New York, 2021, (entry by Francisco J.R. Chaparro), cat. no. 56, pp.184–85, ill.
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