Valentín Bellvís de Moncada y Pizarro

Goya depicts the young aristocrat Valentín Bellvís de Moncada y Pizarro dressed in the uniform of Captain General of the Spanish Army. The three-quarter-length figure stands in a confident pose with his hands resting on his cane and the edge of his jacket slightly pulled back to reveal the hilt of his sword, the symbol of his profession. In this painting he succeeds in capturing the energy and spirit of the sitter. His dark brown eyes, beneath his bushy eyebrows, look directly at the viewer as if he were in conversation with him.

Goya creates a clear contrast between the young officer's white clothes, the red sash and the black cuff with two elements that identify him as an Infantry Brigadier: the three silver stripes and the oak leaf, the only decoration in the scene. In addition, the loose brushstrokes used on the uniform give it a sense of indefiniteness and draw the viewer's attention to his more clearly defined face.

To emphasise the volume of the body, he uses a neutral background made up of different shades of olive green: lighter around the head and darker around the uniform, forming a subtle diagonal.

Stylistically we see similarities with the portraits of the Duke of Alba painted between 1795 - 1796, as the details of the face were painted with the same light and refinement as those seen in this one by Valentín Bellvís.