Las gigantillas (1791-1792)

Goya, Francisco de (1746-1828)

Las gigantillas (Little Giants)
17911792
Oil on canvas 137 x 104 cm
Museo del PradoMadrid

Five boys play at riding on each other’s shoulders in the game called “Chicken Fights” or “Horse and Rider” in a setting of hills and woods. This work is one of the cartoons for a series of gay, playful tapestries intended for the bedrooms of the infantas —the daughters of the future Carlos IV (1748-1819) and María Luisa de Parma (1751-1788)— at the El Pardo Palace in Madrid. Goya received the commission the same year Carlos III (1716-1788) died, which led the entire Royal Family to move to other Royal Seats, such as the palaces of La Granja, Aranjuez and El Escorial. As a result, the series of tapestries was never finished. (MNP)