A small but vivid portrait of a young Francisco de Goya, this pious image has survived with remarkable preservation. It recently did not find buyers at a Madrid auction held in the Abalarte room, a fact confirmed by close observers involved in the sale. The painting had not been published to the wide public until 2011 and is dated circa 1774, a formative moment in the artist’s early career. In 2014, authorities declared it non-exportable because of its rarity and its importance as an early glimpse of Goya’s development as a master painter.
The canvas displays affinities with the later, more expansive cycles of religious imagery. The subject resembles a Pieta, a theme that appears in a number of the artist’s early investigations into mercy and human suffering. The work is connected to a significant religious setting in Zaragoza, where the Aragonese master is known to have contributed to the Aula Dei charterhouse church until the period when he is believed to have departed for other ventures.
According to the gallery presenting the piece, the composition shows clear parallels with high Italian traditions. Elements reminiscent of the studies by Annibale Carracci in the Capodimonte collection, and echoes of works from the Vatican projects associated with classical patrons, are highlighted as points of comparison for those who follow the artist’s career across Europe. These connections underline why the painting is considered a must-see for anyone tracing the journey of Spanish painters who encountered Italian art during extended sojourns in Italy.
Scholars suggest the work may have remained in Zaragoza for many decades, likely belonging to a canon of a mid-20th century civic collection. After the canon’s passing, the piece transferred to a family in Zaragoza and remained there until it entered private ownership in 2008. The condition of the artifact is described as highly sound, featuring an old frame and an original hemp canvas that has been preserved without lining. This level of preservation makes the painting an unusually intimate glimpse into the artist’s early technique and use of light.
The work was once included in an exhibition program that explored the historical ties between Goya and the city of Zaragoza, a collaboration highlighting the region’s strong cultural roots. In the mid-2010s, a major regional exhibit focused on Goya’s early period and the Aragonese roots of his art, forming part of a broader dialogue about how regional identity influenced the European art scene.
In the exhibition catalog curated by a leading authority on Goya, the painting is described as a work of high quality and praised for its masterful use of light across different surfaces of the composition. The assessment notes that the painting can be attributed to Goya with a high degree of confidence, embracing a confident interpretation of chiaroscuro and gesture that anticipates the mature style the artist would develop in Madrid and beyond. The overall treatment of the scene—its tenderness, its drama, and its painterly handling—suggests a strong connection to the artist’s Italian influences and to the broader currents in European painting during the late eighteenth century.