Marriage of the Virgin (Los desposorios de la Virgen)

Once again, the composition is centred on a large group of figures who are the main characters in the scene: in this case, Mary and Joseph are shown standing on a short staircase before a Hebrew priest, holding hands in the act of marriage. Mary is wearing a blue cloak and mauve tunic, while Joseph is dressed in a tunic of the same colour but with an ochre-coloured cloak. As the main figures in the scene, they are highlighted with more vivid colours and light, as is the woman who is depicted in a blue cloak and golden tunic who stands behind the Virgin, turning her face to talk to another woman in the middle ground.

The scene is completed by two women and two men who observe the events or talk amongst themselves, as well as two children on the left-hand side, one in the foreground with his back to us, who are playing on the staircase. The setting is an architectural space framed by some impressive red drapes gathered back at the top of the painting.

Further to the left we can see a semi-circular arch which opens the composition out onto a cloudy grey sky and a small group of sketched figures. On the right-hand side, Goya's original paintings were lost almost in their entirety: the group of men that complete the scene and the surrounding architecture of the ionic order that also allows us to see the sky in the background are the work of the Buffet brothers.

See Revelation to Saint Joachim and Saint Anne for a history of the complete set of works housed in this church.