A partly naked woman seated by a stream; page 32 from the "Images of Spain" Album (F)
The challenge of discerning the meaning of certain Goya works is exemplified by this drawing. The image’s correspondence with the biblical story of Susanna and the Elders, in which two old men spied upon a woman bathing, has long been noted. It has also been suggested that the drawing shows an illicit encounter between two lovers in the woods outside Madrid. More recently it was hypothesized that it represents summer. These interpretations are not without problems. It is more likely that Goya was experimenting with the fundamentals of a story like Susanna and the Elders, resulting in an image without a precise subject.
Artwork Details
- Title: A partly naked woman seated by a stream; page 32 from the "Images of Spain" Album (F)
- Series/Portfolio: Images of Spain Album
- Artist: Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) (Spanish, Fuendetodos 1746–1828 Bordeaux)
- Date: ca. 1812–20
- Medium: Brush, bistre and wash, traces of red chalk
- Dimensions: Sheet: 8-1/8 x 5-5/8 in. (20.6 x 14.3cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1935
- Object Number: 35.103.25
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
1799, posthumous impression
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
ca. 1815–19 (published 1864)
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
ca. 1815–19 (published 1864)
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
ca. 1815–19 (published 1864)
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
ca. 1815–19 (published 1864)
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