The Woodcutters (Los leñadores)

This overdoor piece decorated the north wall of the bedroom antechamber, where it formed a pair with another overdoor, Majo with Guitar.

José Manuel Arnaiz considers this cartoon to be a clear step backwards in the work of Goya. The use that the artist makes of the materials employed in the preparation of the canvas, incorporating them into the colour of the work, recalls the work of the first series of cartoons, in which the artist was yet to achieve the status of master painter. Only in the buckles of the shoes worn by main woodcutter can we see the Goya of his more recent, better works, says Arnaiz, and the influence of Antonio González Velázquez is very apparent. However, Camón Aznar is of the opinion that the compositional structure of The Woodcutters is magnificent, as are the earthy tones and the "glorious blue background" of the sky. Gudiol points out Goya's skill in depicting anonymous types.

Nordström relates this cartoon to melancholy and wintertime. Tomlinson goes further, comparing the woodcutters to a Cupid whose love goes unrequited, cutting off the dead wood from a tree that is just as sterile as his efforts to be loved.