Annunciation

Francisco Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746–1828)

about 1785

Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas

Dimensions40.3 x 23.2 cm (15 7/8 x 9 1/8 in.)

Credit LineWilliam Francis Warden Fund

Accession number1988.218

On View

Not on view

ClassificationsPaintings

Collections

Europe

Description

This painting, a sketch for a large altarpiece in a monastic chapel in Madrid, gives us a unique glimpse into Goya's creative process. The quick, fluid brushstrokes demonstrate the rapid technique used for a preliminary study. Many changes were made in the final version: the image of God the Father was omitted, and the positions of the Virgin and the angel Gabriel reversed. The fresh, spring-like colors are characteristic of Goya's early style; his later works are much more somber.

ProvenanceEduardo Lucas Moreno, Madrid. 1908 until at least 1951, Marques de Casa Torres, Madrid. By 1960 until at least 1964, Wildenstein and Co., London. 1970, private collection, London. Private collection, Barcelona (?). June 29, 1979, anonymous sale, Christie's, London, lot 73, unsold (?). December 11, 1981, anonymous sale, Christie's, London, lot 67. By 1984, anonymous collector, Boston; 1988, sold by the anonymous collector to the MFA. (Accession Date: March 23, 1988)