Francisco de Goya

Juan Martín Díez, The Undaunted (Juan Martín Díez, el Empecinado)

Juan Martín Díez, The Undaunted (Juan Martín Díez, el Empecinado)
Datos Generales
Cronología
1809
Ubicación
National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Japan
Dimensiones
84 x 65 cm
Técnica y soporte
Oil on canvas
Reconocimiento de la autoría de Goya
Documented work
Titular
Aino Gakuin Institute
Ficha: realización/revisión
22 Jun 2011 / 05 Aug 2024
Inventario
(en depósito)
Otros títulos:
Juan Martín Díaz, The Undaunted (Juan Martín Díaz, el Empecinado)
The Undaunted (El Empecinado)
Historia

This work belonged to the collector Luis Navas. It later left Spain and was in various foreign collections: that of Wasserman, in Munich; that of Bossard, in Lucerne; that of Robert Neugebauer, in Cologne; and was finally in another private collection in Zurich. It was subsequently acquired by the Aino Gakuin Institute of Osaka, Japan, and taken to the National Museum of Western Art, in Tokyo.

Análisis artístico

Juan Martín Díez, known as El Empecinado ("The Undaunted") (Castrillo de Duero, Valladolid, 1775-Roa, Burgos, 1825) was a Spanish guerrilla who fought against the French in the Spanish War of Independence.

This portrait's movement through numerous foreign collections has made a study of the work difficult, and for this reason it has been excluded from some of the most important catalogues of Goya's work. But over time it has been rescued from anonymity and is now considered by most specialists to be an original work by Goya. Almost all the experts date this work to the years of armed conflict against the French forces, as suggested by the military nature of the work and the very biography of its sitter, but it was Arturo Ansón who was able to date it precisely to the year 1809.

El Empecinado was named cavalry captain by the Supreme Junta of Old Castile in April 1809, and was promoted to brigadier in September 1810. Here we see him wearing the uniform of captain, meaning that the work must have been painted at sometime between these two dates. Moreover, we know that Goya and El Empecinado were both in the same French-free zone at the beginning of 1809, sometime before spring, which was when Goya returned to Madrid. They were in Piedrahita (Ávila) and in Béjar (Salamanca), respectively, some 40 kilometres apart. It is likely that Goya painted this portrait of the soldier in the month of April.

The half-length portrait shows El Empecinado in half profile and looking out at the viewer. He is dressed in the bright red jacket of cavalry captain, with golden epaulettes at the shoulders. The details on the uniform are also gold, including the buttons, laces and needlework. He wears a sash decorated with the coat of arms of Castile standing out in relief across his chest. His trousers are of a dark green colour and the belt from where his sword would have hung is red. His right hand is on his hip, whilst his left hangs down at his side. Both of his hands are hidden from view. The most striking part of the portrait is the subject's face. Goya has set out to reflect his psychological insight into El Empecinado in the expression of bravery and might that shows through on his face, which is dominated by his dark beard and moustache.

The painter Salvador Martín Cubells made a copy of this portrait, which is now in the Royal Academy of History, in Madrid.

The Army Museum in Madrid has a photograph of the portrait, the caption of which says that the work once belonged to Don Luis Navas. We can assume that it was this collector who delivered it to Ricardo de Madrazo, who in turn gave it to Lieutenant Colonel Hilario González, the person in charge of the museum, to illustrate the personal belongings of El Empecinado. This story appears to confirm that the portrait was in the possession of Luis Navas but Carmen Montilla has detected some differences between the image in the photograph and the painting now in Tokyo. This suggests the possibility that they are not the same painting and that two versions of the work exist, one of which is in an unknown location. Alternatively, if they are one and the same painting, it is possible that a restoration has made changes to the original, affecting its quality.

Exposiciones
  • Goya dans les collections suisses
    Fundación Pierre Gianadda
    Martigny
    1982
    consultant editor Pierre Gassier. From June 12th to August 29th 1982
  • Goya 1900
    Ministerio de Instrucción Pública and Bellas Artes
    Madrid
    1900
    consultant editors Aureliano de Beruete, Alejandro Ferrant, Marqués de Pidal and Ricardo Velázquez. May 1900
  • Goya, el Empecinado y la Guerra de la Independencia en Aragón
    Palacio de Sástago
    Zaragoza
    1996
    organized by Diputación Provincial de Zaragoza at the Palacio de Sástago, consultant editors Arturo Ansón Navarro and Ricardo Centellas Salamero. From November 15th to December 15th 1996
Bibliografía
  • WINDHAM LEWIS, Dominic Bevan
    The world of Goya
    Bibliography']['number
    LondonMichael Joseph
    1968
    pp. 160, 195 y p. 196 (il.)
  • GUDIOL RICART, José
    Bibliography']['number
    BarcelonaPolígrafa
    1970
    vol. I, 369, cat. 661
  • ANGELIS, Rita de
    L’opera pittorica completa di Goya
    Bibliography']['number
    MilanRizzoli
    1974
    p. 130, cat. 593
  • CENTELLAS, Ricardo and ANSÓN NAVARRO, Arturo
    Goya, El Empecinado y la guerra de la independencia en Aragón
    Bibliography']['number
    ZaragozaDiputación Provincial e Instituto Aino Gakuin (Japón)
    1996
    pp. 70-81 y p. 79 (il.)
  • MONTILLA CASTILLO, Carmen
    Goya y el Empecinado en el Museo del Ejército de Madrid
    Militaria. Revista de cultura militar
    Bibliography']['number
    1997
Enlaces externos
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