Martín Zapater and Clavería (3)

This slightly longer than bust portrait depicts the sitter in half profile, before a greenish grey neutral background. He is wearing a dark-brown, double-breasted velvet dress coat with wide lapels, beneath which we can see a white shirt and a neck tie. His face is that of a mature man, in good health and of friendly disposition. Some of his features are very marked, such as the rounded chin, prominent nose, deep-set eyes, thick eyebrows and broad forehead.

This is a simple, intimate portrait, in which Goya represents his best friend with boldness and complete freedom, recalling pre-Romantic models common to English painting, which the artist would have been familiar with.

Although some writers (e.g. Desparmet Fitz-Gerald) have speculated about the possibility that the canvas was originally rectangular, it is more likely that it was oval shaped from the outset.

For additional biographical information, see Portrait of Martín Zapater y Clavería.