Francisco de Goya (1746-1828), The Marquise of Santa Cruz. Oil on canvas, 124.7 x 207.9 cm. 1805

BILBAO.- From 1941, this remarkable portrait used to form part of the Félix Váldes Bilbao Collection. After many changes in fortune, however, it was finally acquired by the Prado National Museum in 1986. The portrait is currently on loan to the museum from the Prado.

The painting depicts Joaquina Téllez-Girón y Alfonso-Pimentel, Marquise of Santa Cruz, at the age of 21. The sitter, a much-admired woman in her time, was considered to be a faithful representative of illustrated aristocracy. Portrayed in a reclining position, she is dressed in contemporary French fashion, wearing a crown of oak leaves and fruit symbolising virtue, fortitude and constancy and carrying a guitar-lyre that serves to further emphasise Goya’s personal evocation of the Classic world.