LA MAJA DESNUDA FRANCISCO GOYA

When: 1800 What: Painting Where: Spain

Whether he knew it or not, Francisco Goya was crossing a significant line in the depiction of nudity when he accepted the commission to paint La Maja Desnuda for Manuel de Godoy.

The convention to that point was for nudes to be mythical in nature, or when depicting real people to be of women usually considered of lesser morals, such as prostitutes. It would also be expected that the subject would demurely look away from the viewer.

This painting broke all of those rules and was explicit in its sexuality. While it was never hung publicly during Goya’s lifetime, the Spanish Inquisition got wind of it in 1808 and seized it from Godoy, demanding to know who painted it. While Goya was named, he escaped prosecution. The painting now hangs in the Museo del Prado alongside the clothed companion piece by Goya, La Maja Vestida.