La maja desnuda
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The Naked Maja | |
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Spanish: La maja desnuda | |
Artist | Francisco Goya |
Year | 1797–1800 |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 97 cm × 190 cm (38 in × 75 in) |
Location | Museo del Prado, Madrid |
The Naked Maja or The Nude Maja
The painting is renowned for the straightforward and unashamed gaze of the model towards the viewer. It has also been cited as among the earliest Western artwork to depict a nude woman's
Description
Although the two versions of the Maja are the same size, the sitter in the clothed version occupies a slightly larger proportion of the pictorial space; according to art historian Janis Tomlinson she seems almost to "press boldly against the confines of her frame", making her more brazen in comparison to the comparatively "timid" nude portrait.[3]
The painting carries many of the traditions of depictions of the nude in Spanish art, but marks a clear break in significant ways, especially in her bold gaze. Further, the accompanying pendant showing a woman in contemporary dress makes it clear that the focus of the work is not of a mythological subject, as in Velázquez's Rokeby Venus, but in fact of a nude Spanish woman.[3] More obviously, while Velázquez painted his Venus revealing only her back, Goya's portrait is a full frontal view.[4] Goya's figuration is short and angular, while Velázquez's is elongated and curved, and his figure placed on richly coloured satin, which starkly contrasts to the bare white cloths Goya's maja rests on.[5]
Inquisition
The identity of the model and why the paintings were created are today unknown. Both paintings are first recorded in an inventory of "unpopular and unsuccessful art" by Prime Minister
The controversy was populist and driven by a political motive, following a mob gathering demanding Godoy's removal as Prime Minister. In the fallout, Goya was named and summoned on a charge of moral depravity.
Goya escaped prosecution when the tribunal accepted that he was following in a tradition, and emulating a Velázquez painting which had been favoured by Philip IV of Spain.[8] The earlier picture of Venus had been similarly kept out of view by that art-loving king in a private room, "the room where His Majesty retires after eating."[9] In fact, the Inquisition by 1808 was nearing the end of its influence, and while it could draw attention to "dangerous" forms of expression, be they books, plays, or paintings, it was usually unable to fully suppress them.[7]
Provenance
La maja desnuda has always hung alongside, above, or before its companion. They were twice in the collection of the
It is not known if the two works were intended to be hung together. One early account gives the Clothed Maja placed in front of the current work; the pull of a cord revealed the nude version. Today they are hung side by side, although others have suggested that they were intended to be spaced apart, and seen in succession.[3]
Identity of the model
It has been conjectured that the woman depicted was Prime Minister Godoy's young mistress
The word maja is the feminine form of majo, a low-class Spaniard of the 18th and 19th century.
Influence
The work has inspired other artists. Jeffrey Meyers, in his book Impressionist Quartet: The Intimate Genius of Manet and Morisot, Degas and Cassatt, opines that Manet's Olympia "boldly alluded to another masterpiece, Goya's Naked Maja."[11]
Two sets of stamps depicting La maja desnuda in commemoration of Goya's work were privately produced in 1930 and later approved by the Spanish Postal Authority.[12]
The novel The Naked Maja (by
The painting figures into the plot of film Toto in Madrid, an Italian comedy film from 1959, directed by Steno, written by Vittorio Metz, starring Totò and Louis de Funès.
In the comedy film The Toy (1982 film), U.S. Bates has a portrait of his young wife posed in imitation of La maja vestida. A hidden switch on Bates' desk causes the figure's clothes to slide away, making it now resemble La maja desnuda.
See also
- List of works by Francisco Goya
- 100 Great Paintings, 1980 BBC series
References and sources
- ^ This name was given later; Goya did not usually title his works.
- ^ Lovejoy, Bess (2014-07-11). "Portrait of Ms Ruby May: Leena McCall's painting runs up against the pubic hair police". Slate.com. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
- ^ a b c Tomlinson, 149
- ^ a b Connell, 196
- ^ a b Tomlinson, 148
- ^ He was brought on a separate charge of collaborating with the French, that is of treason. See Connell 196
- ^ a b Hughes, 333
- ^ Connell, 197
- ^ Portús, 62–63
- ^ Prado page
- ISBN 0-15-101076-5
- ^ "The Clothed and the Naked Maja by Goya"
- Samuel Edwards in Google Books
Sources
- Connell, Evan S. Francisco Goya: A Life. New York: Counterpoint, 2004. ISBN 1-58243-307-0
- ISBN 0-394-58028-1
- Portús, Javier. Nudes and Knights: A Context for Venus, in Carr, Dawson W. Velázquez. Ed. Dawson W. Carr; also Xavier Bray, Javier Portús and others. National Gallery London, 2006. ISBN 1-85709-303-8
- Tomlinson, Janis A. Goya in the Twilight of Enlightenment. ISBN 0-300-05462-9
- Updike, John (3 November 2003). "An Obstinate Survivor". The New Yorker. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
External links
- Prado page on The Naked Maja
- Media related to La Maja Desnuda at Wikimedia Commons