The Clothed Maja
by Francisco Goya, 1800
StyleRomanticism
Artwork Details
Details
- Year
- 1800
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 95 cm × 190 cm
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Francisco Goya painted The Clothed Maja between 1800 and 1807 as a companion to his earlier Nude Maja. The same woman reclines on the same green velvet cushions, but now wears a white empire-waist gown, yellow jacket, and pink sash. Her direct gaze remains unchanged.
Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy owned both paintings. According to legend, he hung them so the clothed version could be raised by pulleys to reveal the nude beneath. When Napoleon's brother Joseph inventoried Godoy's collection in 1808, they were listed as "Naked Gypsy" and "Clothed Gypsy." The model's identity remains unknown, though speculation centers on the Duchess of Alba or Godoy's mistress Pepita Tudó.
The canvas measures 95 by 190 centimeters and hangs at the Museo del Prado in Madrid, displayed beside its nude twin. The Spanish Inquisition seized both paintings from 1814 to 1836 for indecency. Art historian Janis Tomlinson notes the clothed version is actually more "brazen," the figure pressing boldly against the frame.
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Also at Museo del Prado, Madrid
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About The Clothed Maja
It's at the Museo del Prado in Madrid, displayed alongside its companion piece, The Nude Maja. Goya painted both versions between approximately 1800 and 1807.
The original theory was that The Clothed Maja was hung over The Nude Maja to conceal it from unwanted viewers, with a mechanism to switch between them. Both paintings share the same pose, size, and setting. The clothed version may have been commissioned to provide a 'decent' alternative for mixed company.
Her identity is debated. Popular tradition names the Duchess of Alba, but there's no proof. Others suggest Pepita Tudó, mistress of the prime minister Manuel Godoy, who owned both paintings. Goya never identified her. Whoever she was, her direct, confident gaze was unusual for the era.
It measures 95 cm × 190 cm (37.4 × 74.8 inches), identical to The Nude Maja. Both are oil on canvas. The tight white outfit actually emphasizes the figure's form almost as much as the nude version does, which was likely intentional on Goya's part.
It's late 18th-century Spanish painting with Romantic tendencies. Goya's naturalistic approach and the model's direct gaze broke from the idealized Classical nude tradition. The Spanish Inquisition later investigated The Nude Maja for obscenity, but nothing came of it.
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