The six works of Goya’s “Children’s Games” are incorporated into the permanent collection of his museum

Children playing, jumping, dressed as soldiers with paper hats, fighting with weapons made from reeds or bullfighting are the main scenes of the six works that form part of the series “ Children’s Games ”, painted by Francisco de Goya that is incorporated into the permanent collection of the Goya Museum of the Ibercaja Foundation . In total, there are now 32 works by the Aragonese genius that can be seen in the Goya Museum, together with the complete series of engravings from 1778 to 1825.

Donated by the Santamarca Foundation and by San Ramón and San Antonio, this is the only series in the world that is preserved and can be seen in its entirety. Painted between 1775 and 1785 , the well-known painter born in Fuendetodos sought to denounce with these works “ the lack of concern for the education of humble, poor and vulnerable children , most of them illiterate,” says the general director of the Ibercaja Foundation, José Luis Rodrigo.

The series of scenes that make up the collection feature children between the ages of two and thirteen who perform everyday actions as a result of the painter’s memories of his childhood in Zaragoza . The scenes are set in Spain and Italy, the first in urban spaces on the outskirts of Madrid (“Children playing at jumping”), in villages in Castile (“Children playing at soldiers”) and also in spaces recreated based on his memories in Zaragoza (“Children playing bullfighting”). The ones set in Italy, on the classical ruins of Rome, are “Children playing seesaw”, “Children fighting over chestnuts” and “Children looking for nests”.

The colour scheme used is the usual one of the time, with greyish-white, ochre and yellowish tones, dark greens and blues, reds and raspberries. In the skies, greys, blues and oranges stand out.

Before arriving at this museum, the series was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando and in Milan, but never permanently. The director of the Santamarca Foundation, Ignacio Olmos, says that this permanent loan is an opportunity “to keep the collection in a perfect state of maintenance, ensuring its conservation and security , and making it available to a wide and diverse public, increasing its visibility.”

As usual on other occasions, the Goya Museum will offer the public a series of visits and conferences on this series of paintings.

AN UNPUBLISHED PORTRAIT

Along with the series of “Children’s Games”, a seventh work is being added to the Goya Museum, “ Portrait in miniature of a young gentleman in a blue tailcoat ”. Painted in 1803, it is “an unpublished work with a technique and support that were unusual in Goya’s activity as a portraitist”, explains Rodrigo. It is painted in gouache on an ivory sheet and the identity of the gentleman portrayed is unknown, since no information appears on the back.