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53 54 The Church of San Francisco el Grande Back in Madrid, Goya was nominated along with six other artists to paint altarpieces for the Church of San Francisco el Grande, a prominent landmark that features in several of Goya’s views of the capital. 49), was chosen by the artist himself. In the centre of a conventional triangular composition stands the saint with a star above him. According to legend, St Bernardino of Siena (1380-1444) was preaching in the presence of the king, and, as he was praising the coronation of the Virgin, the congregation were amazed to see a brilliant star descend from Heaven, bathing the saint in divine light.

Doña Isabel de Porcel, 1804-1805, oil on canvas, 82 x 54 cm, National Gallery, London. Francisca Sabasa y García, 1804-08, oil on canvas, 71 x 58 cm, National Gallery, Washington. 39 40 41 42 husband. 42). There is, however, no evidence to prove the popular legend that a romantic liaison existed between the artist and his patron. 1 cm, National Library, Madrid. 3 cm, Hispanic Society, New York. In the full-length portrait, set in front of a distant landscape, the Duchess wears the costume of a maja — a black mantilla and gown with a scarlet sash — and Goya may have applied the heavy make up to her face himself, a common practice of painters and their sitters.

However, he was later to regret the commission. Goya worked at extraordinary speed and painted 212 square metres in four months. 52), shows the celestial world of saints and angels circulating around the Virgin in Glory. Beneath her are saints with their attributes, the objects with which they were martyred; St Paul carries a sword, St Laurence kneels beside a gridiron and St Engracia holds a hammer and nail. The loose brush work and bold composition, with its spacious layout and command of grand illusionistic perspective, were in complete opposition to the aesthetics of neo-classicism favoured by Bayeu.