El cacharrero

Women bend over plates and jugs spread on the ground while a carriage pulls away behind them, its lady a blur behind the glass. Goya painted this street scene in 1779 as a design for a royal tapestry.

The story behind the painting

The Crockery Vendor is a tapestry cartoon Goya made in 1779 for the third series destined for the bedroom of the Prince of Asturias, the future Charles IV, and his wife Maria Luisa of Parma, at the Pardo Palace. It was delivered to the Royal Tapestry Factory on 6 January 1779. Two tapestries were woven from it, one for the Pardo and one for the Escorial. The series also included The Fair of Madrid, The Soldier and the Lady, The Haw Seller and The Game of Pelota.

What to look for

In the foreground sits a man Goya himself described as a Valencian selling crockery, half in shadow, while two young women and an old woman inspect his wares in the light. The old woman with a frying pan, and the still life of ceramics, recall Velazquez's Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, a painter Goya admired. Behind, a carriage sets off with a lady seen blurred through the glass door, watched by two seated figures. Look for the first position of the rear wheel, still visible beside the one Goya finally painted.

Meaning and intent

Here appear constants of Goya's later style: people of high rank in the carriage beside humble street sellers, in a scene of everyday life in the light of the setting sun. The brushwork is loose, with touches of light laid on with a palette knife. The movement of the carriage is well caught, notably in the footman leaning back from the jolt of departure. The colour harmony of coppery golds, greys and sky blue is remarkable, and the faience, porcelain, metal and fabrics are rendered with a fine sense of touch.

Legacy

The cartoon was considered lost until 1869, when Gregorio Cruzada Villaamil found the canvas in the basement of the Royal Palace of Madrid. It was handed to the Prado in 1870 by orders of 19 January and 9 February, and first appears in the museum's catalogue in 1876. The French Wikipedia article places it in room 92. At 259 by 220 cm, a working design for a weaver has become one of the museum's lively windows onto the streets of eighteenth century Madrid.