Funeral eulogy of Charles Lemaur (preparatory drawing)

This drawing is a tribute to the memory of Charles Lemaur († Madrid, 1785), the engineer responsible for the most important projects carried out during the reign of Charles III. It was engraved in Paris in 1788 by Pierre Philippe Choffard (1730-1809).

It shows a distressed and tormented figure lying at the base of a pyramid with a background of poplars behind a stream. The figure is covered with a large amount of clothing; the head, slightly tilted, is hidden under the hood, reflecting dejection. His hands are clasped, a symbol of suffering and desolation. In front of him are unfolded drawings and several books on which he rests his arm lightly. The pyramid, two sides of which are shown, has a sketched portrait of the figure of Charles Lemaur in a tondo. At the base of the pyramid he placed a globe together with ancient measuring instruments such as the crossbow.

The background with the stream and trees refers to Lemaur's projects and work as a canal builder. Goya broke with the conventional architecture of his time and used a pyramidal representation, influenced by Rome, especially through the drawings of Piranesi, known from his trip to Italy (1769-1771). The pyramid has been understood since Roman times as a funerary symbol, an element in which Goya was interested from the beginning.