“Señora Sabasa Garcia”
“Señora Sabasa Garcia” is a beautiful oil on canvas portrait by the Spanish Romantic artist, Francisco Goya, made between 1806 and 1811. Goya painted this piece during his portrait phase, just after he had achieved the height of fame as the official court painter for Charles IV, the King of Spain.
Francisco Goya was appointed to the prestigious role of court painter in 1789. By the 1790s, he had come into his own as an artist. His talents were appreciated and in high demand. He spent several years painting commissioned portraits, mostly of the upper middle class in Madrid, and did over 40 works in only a few years.
Goya had received a commission from Spain’s minister of foreign affairs and an art patron in his own right, Evaristo Pérez de Castro, for an official portrait. While Goya was working on Castro’s portrait, he met Castro’s niece. Goya was taken aback by her beauty and asked to paint her portrait. Her nickname was “Sabasa”, and she was just 16 years old at the time.
Though we don’t know much about the personal life of the sitter of this piece, we do have a little historical context to help accentuate it. The youthful woman’s striking, and direct gaze helps show the progression of women’s rights in this area.
Just prior to this time in Spain, women often covered their faces with veils, but in this piece, the woman is confidently looking at the viewer. Her arms are crossed depicting her maturity and recent coming of age. She is a Spanish beauty, all grown up, and soon to be married.
Goya painted Sabasa against a black backdrop, deciding to focus all his attention and that of the viewer’s on the sitter alone. The clothes are depicted in an almost impressionist manner which makes her bright face and clear expression more striking.
“Señora Sabasa Garcia” is currently on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, in the United States.
For more on Francisco Goya, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
