Goya, Children's Portraiture, and Animals

Pets are an iconic part of childhood. Those who had them growing up can recall the dog who slept in their bed, or the cat who was eternally unamused. No matter the period or culture, animals and pets have played important roles in the development and enjoyment of children. It’s only then understandable that as children began to pose for portraits post Italian renaissance, their pets and animals were also posed right next to them. 

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, was a Spanish painter who rose to prominence in the ladder half of the eighteenth century for painting portraits for Spanish nobility, many of which were of children. Of these famed children’s portraits several feature animals in very prominent roles. Wether stalking a magpie with symbolic fixation or standing raggedly by their sitters side, these pets very; both in kind, and intended meaning. Goya’s inclusion of this fun fauna however was not the result of some artistic benevolence. both in Spain and elsewhere during and before this time artists were including animals in their portraits to great effect. And just as Goyas usage of animals is varied, so too is theirs. Through pondering these five pieces present in this curation, I hope you will consider how Goya's children’s portraiture compares to those that came before and after him. 

                         

                                            Manuel Osorio Manrique De Zuñiga

                                                 Francisco de Goya y Lucientes

                                                                  1787-1788

                                                                oil on canvas

                                                 The Metropolitan Museum of Art 

                                                                  

    This painting of Manuel Osorio by Goya shows Manuel standing in his portrait wearing a red onesie and silk sash. He is accompanied by three cats to his left, a cage of finches to his right, and a pet magpie in front of him holding Goya's calling card in his beak. The Juxtaposition of the cat's clear intent to pounce upon the magpie creates a moment of suspension before chaos would surely erupt. The cage of canneries is believed to represent childhood innocence, and the cat's the dangers of growing up. Manuels later death at the age of eight imbues the image with a strange melancholy that has lead some critics to believe this painting was created posthumously, although that view has been largely disproven. 

                                                            Infante Phillip Prospero

                                                                Diego Velazquez

                                                                         1659

                                                                    Oil on canvas

                                                  Kunsthistorisches Museum in Austria

  In this painting, Phillip Prospero is shown wearing a Childs gown adorned with good luck charms given to him by Pope Innocent x. Phillip was the son of King Phillip IV and the prince of Asturias. The chair that Phillips hand rests on reminds the viewer of his rightful call to the throne, but in a rather enchanting twist his pet spaniel reclines there instead reassuring the viewer that the chair is indeed quite comfortable. Phillip Prosporo was a very sickly boy and indeed died two years after this painting was done. His limp hand draped on the chair is in fact seen to be a sign of his frail state even during the completion of the portrait.

                              Maria Teresa de Borbon y Vallabriga, later Condesa de Chinchón

                                                         Francisco de Goya y Lucientes

                                                                                1783

                                                                         Oil on canvas

                                                     National gallery of art in Washington D.C.

One of Goya's first portraits ever painted was this portrait of Maria Teresa De Bourbon. He did a series of portraits for the Infante Don Luis, brother of Charles III, but only this one and one of Maria's brother were of children. Maria is seen wearing the fashionable attire of a lady in the Spanish court as shoe poses at the edge of a terrace. Although here clothes would make her out to be a small adult, her cheeks are flushed as if she had just stopped running long enough to pose for this painting. The dog at her side also adds a fun playful element with his hair in his eyes and his unconcerned expression. Goya would go on to do three other portraits for Maria Teresa over the course of her life as they remained friends. 

                                                                 A Girl With a Kitten

                                                     Likely by Jean-Baptiste Perronneau

                                                                               1743

                                                   Pastel on blue paper laid down on canvas

                                                    The National Gallery in  Washington D.C.

                                                                           

In this painting believed to be created by Jean-Baptiste Personeau, a girl sits wearing a decedent blue dress and a cat on her lap. The girl has never been identified and there is some question as to if Personeau really painted this piece. This portrait lacks many many of the artistic decisions that would have been consistent with this time in his career. If it weren't for his signature it is possible It would never have been attributed to him, but there are still consistencies between certain pastel techniques here and in his other works. It is noteworthy that as the girl herself is posed sitting down, she also poses her cat, showing her control and mastery over it. This matches the enlightenment ideals of both interest and hopeful mastery over nature and science. The choice of showing a kitten instead of a grown cat also emphasizes the sitters youth. 

 

                                                                   The Graham Children

                                                                       William Hogarth

                                                                               1742

                                                                         Oil on canvas

                                                                        160.5 x 181 cm

                                                    The National Gallery in Washington D.C.

Although this painting of the four Graham children may seem pleasant, much of it revolves around the death of the youngest child Thomas who is seen sitting on a green chair. This painting was commissioned after Thomas' death and many of the items in the room point to his passing. Thomas is seen reaching for the cherries in his sisters hand, a traditional symbol of the fruit of paradise. The silver basket contains fruit and crossed carnation, which at this time were known to be funeral flowers. The cat, which startles the gold finch but suddenly emerging from behind the chair is likely a symbol of how death quickly and unexpectedly strikes. Even the clock behind them shows the form of a cherub holding a scythe, and the time that may have been poor Thomas' passing.