Pantaleón Pérez de Nenín

Don Pantaleón Pérez de Nenín was born in Bilbao in 1779. He belonged to a family of wealthy traders from La Villa de Nervión. At the age of sixteen he was made First Lieutenant, without having graduated from any military academy, almost certainly because his family helped to finance the creation of Queen María Luisa's regiment of hussars. He reached the rank of Commissioned Captain after taking part in the campaign against Portugal, known as the War of the Oranges.

In this portrait, the subject is shown standing, dressed in the uniform of Adjutant Captain of María Luisa's hussar regiment. He is wearing a red dolman jacket, trimmed in silver and with cuffs in the same blue colour as his trousers and the fur-trimmed pelisse over his shoulder, indicating that this was a winter uniform and that perhaps this painting was made in the winter of 1807-08, when the court was in Madrid. On his feet are riding boots with spurs, whilst his head is covered by a busby hat with striking red plumage, designed to make a strong impression on the enemy. In his left hand he holds a large sabre, which would have measured exactly 106.5 cm and which reveals the height of the subject, who must have been around 1 metre 80 cm (almost 5' 11'') tall, an unusual height for the period. In the other hand he holds the baton of Adjutant-in-Chief.

Although the portrait has the dark background common to most of Goya's portraits, here we can also make out the soldier's horse, giving the sensation that he has just dismounted to have his portrait painted.

The artist was once again able to gain a psychological insight into his sitter, depicting his face with a certain melancholy air, which results somewhat out of place on a military man.