Teresa Sureda

Thérèse Louise Chapronde Saint Armand was the maiden name of the French wife of the Majorcan engineer Bartolomé Sureda, whom Goya also painted.

This lady of enlightened bourgeois society, a friend of the painter, is shown seated in an Imperial-style armchair in what is a rather forced posture, in profile and looking directly at the viewer. The blue of her empire-line outfit, as befits a lady of the high bourgeoisie of the period, contrasts with the bright yellow of the armchair. Standing out is the bright white of the collar. Her youthful face is treated with great delicacy, her large eyes and small mouth given prominence, along with the curls that fall perfectly symmetrically over her forehead. She is wearing her thick, dark hair up in a bun, from which a pin is just visible. The subject seems to be emerging from the neutral background of the room, painted in predominantly sombre tones.

Gudiol points out that, from a technical point of view, in this painting Goya had anticipated both impressionist and Japanese tastes, giving relief to colour in a way that would later be seen in works by Manet and in the paintings of some French artists from the last third of the 19th century.