Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, July 12, 2001, lot 237 (as Circle of Francisco de Goya y Lucientes).

The painting has an old glue relining which remains firm and stable, there is still good impasto though some areas of the paint surface have been a little pressed in the relining. Inspection under UV reveal a repaired tear center right of approx. 5 in., a possible repaired puncture in the hair, a small repaired tear to the right of the pillow of approx. 4 in. and a possible repair of scratch or repaired tear upper center of approx. 12 in. and another smaller repaired tear beside it of approx. 5 in., the latter two being visible to the naked eye. The paint surface overall is well retained with only very minor cosmetic retouching to the flesh tones, there is a little old retouching in the lower left corner and possible older retouching in the background at left, the figure however remains largely untouched. For a painting of its size the work is well preserved and can be hung in its present state. Offered in a carved gilt wood frame.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present work is a copy - with only minor differences - after Goya's famous Maja Desnuda in the Museo del Prado, Madrid.¹  The original was probably painted for Manuel Godoy, a minister and royal favorite, for it is recorded as being in his collection on November 12, 1800, in a room devoted to the female nude.  It was confiscated by the Inquisition in 1813 as an obscene work, along with its pendant showing Maja Vestida (The Dressed Maja). The latter was on view in the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando from the time that the pair arrived in 1836, but the Maja Desnuda was in a cabinet or private room in the Academia, closed to both artists and the public until the 1870s.  The two paintings did not go on public view until 1900, when they were exhibited at the Prado.  It is therefore difficult to know who might have had exclusive access to Goya's painting to make the present copy.  Baudelaire, in a letter of 1859 to the photographer Charles Nadar, noted that there were copies of the pair in Spain and he asked Nadar to photograph them and try to buy them.²  In 1867 Yriarte wrote that a small copy of the Maja Desnuda was on market and Baudelaire was known to have had a version of the picture.³

 

1. Inv. no. 742; see J. Luis Morales y Marin, Goya: Catalogo de la Pintura, Zaragoza 1994, cat. no. 314, pp. 268-270, reproduced in colour on p. 99.
2.  J. Wilson-Bareau, " Manet in Spain", in Manet/Velázquez, The French Taste for Spanish Painting, New Haven & London 2003, p. 228.
3. C. Yriarte, Goya, Paris 1867, p. 89.