Charles IV of Spain and His Family

The Family of Charles IV by the Spanish painter Francisco de Goya at the Museo del Prado Spanish Museum is one of the most famous paintings in the world.

Description

The picture shows the family of the Spanish king Charles IV in a pose that prompted a contemporary critic to the utterance of the King ( 5th from the right in the painting ) and his wife (7th from right) would look "like a baker and his wife after a lottery win. " However, there are indications that the sitter were very satisfied with their portraits. Nevertheless, the realism can be in view of the court painter Goya suspect that the directness and unadorned sobriety - you can call it ugliness partially - as the staff of the farm is shown not to accidentally happened. Goya has visualized its distance to the ruling family in this group portrait in a subtle way.

At the edge of the picture (second from left ) is Ferdinand, the heir to the throne, who later turned against his parents and in 1808 staged a coup. He was king and led a despotic regime.

Next to him stands a woman with her ​​face turned away, which is not apparent. They should represent the bride of the heir to the throne, Ferdinand, who had not been selected at the relevant time.

Gratitude is a clear color scheme: The women are dressed in gold, white and silver, while the men in black, blue and red

History

The king and his family were at the time when the picture was painted, little more than a decade in power. As Goya painted the royal family, he was 54 years old and nearly deaf. He lost his hearing probably due to overwork and worry about the banishment of his friends from Spain.

Art history, the painting can be seen in connection with the work of Goya's famous Las Meninas Diego Velázquez predecessor. How Velázquez Goya also arises in the picture behind his easel as a subjective observer of the King family dar. at the court

A copy of the image is located in the stairwell of the royal summer palace of La Granja.