Goya - The Clothed Maja [1807-08]

Goya - The Clothed Maja [1807-08], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

An unidentified lady wearing delicate transparent clothing and a yellow jacket with black decorations lies on a green velvet divan with cushions and a spread. There has been a great variety of opinions as to who the sitter is, but her anonymity is maintained in all of the inventories listing this work. Legend would have it that she was the Duchess of Alba, although she has also been identified as Pepita Tudó, Godoy's mistress from 1797 onwards. 

This painting is first mentioned in 1808 along with its companion, The Nude Maja, in the inventory of the property of Manuel Godoy carried out by Frédéric Quillet, an agent of José Bonaparte. In 1813, the two Majas are described as Gypsies in the inventory of Godoy's properties confiscated by King Fernando VII. The present work is more summarily painted than the nude work, which has more subtle transparencies and tonal gradations, as well as some differences in the position of the figure. 

This work entered the Prado Museum in 1901 by way of the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, where it had been from 1808 to 1813, and again from 1836 to 1901. In the hiatus between those two periods, it was sequestered by the Inquisition.

[Museo Nacional del Prado - Oil on canvas, 95 x 190 cm]