Skip to main content

Francisco de Goya, 'Don Andrés del Peral', before 1798

About the work

Andrés del Peral sits proudly on a simple chair and looks out at us with a penetrating stare. Goya shows Peral as he really was, with a receding hairline and grey hair. He looks as if he’s sneering at us, but his facial droop suggests he may have suffered a stroke. He places his left hand on his hip and the right is tucked into his waistcoat, a gesture commonly found in portraiture at this date.

A friend and contemporary of Goya’s, Peral was an accomplished gilder and worked for the royal court in Madrid from the late 1770s to the 1820s. Goya’s use of colour is subtle and delicate, his brushstrokes confident and at times even flamboyant. Our eye is drawn to the luxurious sheen of Peral’s silvery coat, and the striped waistcoat decorated with flowers beneath it.

Key facts

Full title
Don Andrés del Peral
Artist
Francisco de Goya
Artist dates
1746 - 1828
Date made
before 1798
Medium and support
oil on wood
Dimensions
95 × 65.7 cm
Acquisition credit
Presented by Sir George Donaldson, 1904
Inventory number
NG1951
Location
Room 38
Collection
Main Collection

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

More works by Francisco de Goya

A Picnic
A Picnic
Francisco de Goya
Goya adds a satirical twist to this supposedly innocent scene. It seems that a romantic outing has gone terribly wrong. The remains of a picnic lie on the tablecloth: pieces of bread, two almost-empty plates and bottles of wine. To the right, a man appears to be unwell, probably from drinking too...
Room 37
A Scene from 'The Forcibly Bewitched'
A Scene from 'The Forcibly Bewitched'
Francisco de Goya
Goya shows us a scene based on a satirical play first performed in 1698: The Forcibly Bewitched by Antonio de Zamora (1660–1727). The priest, Don Claudio, is being frightened into marriage with Doña Leonora. He’s been made to believe that a slave, Lucia, has bewitched him, and that his life will...
Room 37
Doña Isabel de Porcel
Doña Isabel de Porcel
Francisco de Goya
A woman turns towards someone or something outside of the picture. She wears an elaborate lace shawl and headdress, known in Spain as a mantilla, the transparency of which is brilliantly conveyed.The sitter is Doña Isabel de Porcel, according to an inscription on the back of the original canvas....
Not on display
The Duke of Wellington
The Duke of Wellington
Francisco de Goya
This portrait of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, was painted after he had defeated the French forces of Napoleon and entered Madrid victorious in August 1812.Wellington sat for Goya shortly after his arrival in Madrid, and the artist produced a large painting of the Duke on horseback (A...
Room 38