Detail of Tiburcio Perez y Cuervo by Goya in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 2010

Tiburcio Pérez y Cuervo (1785/86–1841), the Architect

Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) (Spanish, Fuendetodos 1746–1828 Bordeaux)

Date: 1820

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 40 1/4 x 32 in. (102.2 x 81.3 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915

Accession Number: 30.95.242

Description:

After recovering from a serious illness in 1819–20, Goya painted this portrait of one of his close friends. The sitter was an architect, and responsible for the design of the Medical School on the Calle de Atocha in Madrid. He was elected to the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in 1818.

This is perhaps the most engaging of Goya's male portratis. Pérez's rolled up sleeves and slight smile suggest a directness and warmth that are rare in the artist's oeuvre.


Text from: www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/1100...