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The Plaster Walls of La Quinta del Sordo in 1819
A tiny, dark dog looks up with wide eyes from behind a sloping brown mass. In 1819, a seventy-three-year-old Francisco Goya bought a quiet house near Madrid called La Quinta del Sordo. [1] He was recovering from a near-fatal illness. [1] On the plaster walls of his home, Francisco Goya painted his most haunting images, known today as the Black Paintings. [1]
He did not name these private wall murals. [2] This strange piece, often called The Dog or The Half-Submerged Dog, originally sat on the upper floor of his house [f:6, f:7]. It shows a small, dark grey or black head looking upward into a huge, textured field of golden yellow. The lower fifth is a dark brown, curved slope. A dark patch in the upper right corner might be a stain or a remnant of a previous painting. [2]
Whether the dog is sinking in sludge or looking over a hill remains a mystery. [3] Francisco Goya left the background ambiguous, like an empty sky or a bare room. The rough brushwork shows a mottled surface with cracks, uneven layers, and visible brushstrokes. If you look closely, you can see a faint, small number inscribed in white in the bottom-right corner.
From the Quinta del Sordo to the Museo Nacional del Prado
In 1873, a French banker named Baron Émile d'Erlanger purchased the Quinta del Sordo. [2] He ordered the wall paintings transferred to canvas. [2] This delicate work heavily damaged the fragile paint. [2] After failing to sell them at the Paris World's Fair in 1878, the baron donated them to the Prado in 1881. [2] Some scholars even theorize that Francisco Goya's grandson painted them. [2]
This haunting, empty composition has become one of the most famous pictures of the era. Francisco Goya painted in the emotional Romantic style. We recreate his work by hand with real oil on canvas. If you choose the dog reproduction, our artists will capture every textured brushstroke. You can find every Francisco Goya reproduction we sell online, including Ferdinand VII and The Duchess of Alba.
Selecting the Perfect Size of The Dog for Your Wall
You can bring this quiet, emotional painting by Francisco Goya into your own home. Our hand-painted oil reproduction uses museum-grade linen canvas. Every brushstroke is painted by hand to match Goya's style. We offer classic and modern frames, or you can order it unframed.
There are seven sizes listed on our page, starting from $350. Because of its strong vertical layout, this painting needs the right wall space. If you need a size that is not listed, you can easily commission custom proportions. Selecting the right size and frame will bring Goya's haunting vision to life on your wall.
