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Ben Price
December 6, 2013
Mark Theunissen
Formal Art Analysis
Goya’s Majas on a Balcony
At the Metropolitan Museum of Art one of the most famous paintings by Francisco de
Goya stands tall. Gallery 612 holds the oil on canvas paining Majas on a Balcony. I stood in awe
for about twenty minutes and examined the painting from floor to ceiling. The texture of the oils
reflected light and cast shadows upon the already dramatically contrasting whites, blacks, ochres,
and golds of the painting. I had seen this painting online and in books for years and have always
loved the stark differences between foreground and background, light and dark. On this chilly
Sunday afternoon I could finally view it in all its dark glory, and I knew it would be the painting
I chose to break down and analyze in detail.
Francisco de Goya famously painted majas, or exuberantly dressed lower class women of
the 18th and 19th century in Spain, on a balcony accompanied by two men garbed in black in
1810. Before a smoky grey background, two women sit with cheerful expressions behind a black
iron fence right next to the picture plane. Both women are garbed in black and white gowns
decorated with delicate gold details on the sleeves, skirts, and veils of the majas’ dresses. The
woman on the left has a black and gold veil of diaphanous silk, and the woman on the right has a
veil of white and gold diaphanous silk. Both figures are painted with oil, yet the strokes create a
delicate and airy quality about the clothes. The women are seated and seem to be looking in two
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different directions. The maja on the right is looking towards something to the lower left hand
corner that is happening outside of the painting, yet the maja on the left appears to be looking
directly at the viewer.
Behind the two females there are two somewhat menacing men shrouded in brown cloaks
and black headpieces. The men are looking at the women with curiosity, or maybe weariness, but
their faces and wreathed in shadows so their expressions remain uncertain. Their hats are thick,
black strokes of oil turned into large dark half-circles, and their faces are half covered by their
cloaks. The two men remain mysterious through lack of identity while the two women are
enigmatic through their exuberance and coquettishness.
The lines of the paint are bold and seem to be brushed onto the canvas with little thought
of consequence. However, the beading of the dresses and delicacy of the light, shadow, and
fabric movement show a deft hand at painting. The image is very well composed and shows an
understanding of the viewer and where the eye travels. Overall, it is a very interesting and
beautiful painting that beckons the viewer closer in order to understand the enigmatic scenario
occurring on this balcony.
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