Provenance
One of a series of six small paintings in an inventory of Goya’s collection, Madrid, taken in 1812 for the division of property between the artist and his son Javier following the death of the artist’s wife; the group of small paintings marked X9 being allotted to the son: “Otros seis de varios asuntos con el no neuve, en 800 reales” [see Gassier and Wilson 1971, pp. 251, 254]; presumably Javier Goya, after 1812. Possibly the Marques de la Romana, Madrid [according to Vienna 1908, the painting was formerly in the Romana collection]. Laurent Laperlier (died 1878); sold, 19 February 1879, Hotel Drouot, Paris, lot 20. Serre Dupuch, Bordeaux [according to Desparmet Fitz-Gerald 1928-51]. Desparmet Fitz-Gerald, Paris [according to Desparmet Fitz-Gerald 1928-51]. Miethke Gallery, Vienna, by 1908 [according to Vienna 1908]; sold to Baron Adolf Kohner, Budapest [see Collection Baron Adolphe Kohner, Ernst-Múzeum, Budapest, 1934]; Sale, Ernst-Múzeum, Budapest, 1934, lot 45 (ill.). Édouard Napoléon César Edmond Mortier, duc de Trévise (died 1946), Paris [based on note on the accession card]. Knoedler & Co., New York, stock no. A 1717, by 1936; sold the Art Institute, 1936.
Accession Number
22808
Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
31 × 39.2 cm (12 3/16 × 15 5/16 in.)
Classification
oil on panel
Credit Line
Robert A. Waller Memorial Fund
Background & Context
Background Story
Francisco Goya's "The Hanged Monk" (c. 1810) is an oil on panel that captures one of the darkest subjects in the artist's oeuvre. Goya (1746–1828) was the greatest Spanish painter of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and his work chronicled the full range of human experience, from the most refined courtly pleasures to the most horrifying scenes of violence and death. This painting shows the body of a hanged monk, the figure suspended against a dark background, the face and body rendered with the unflinching realism that characterizes Goya's most powerful works. The oil on panel technique allows for precise detail and rich, deep shadows. The palette is dark and somber, dominated by blacks, browns, and the pale flesh of the corpse. This painting dates from the period of the Napoleonic Wars in Spain (1808–1814), a time of extreme violence and social disruption that produced some of Goya's most harrowing images, including the "Disasters of War" series. "The Hanged Monk" reflects the brutality of the period and Goya's willingness to confront the darkest aspects of human nature.
Cultural Impact
Goya's images of violence and death, created during the Napoleonic Wars, were unprecedented in their unflinching realism and their refusal to idealize or sentimentalize suffering, establishing a new standard for the representation of the darker aspects of human experience.
Why It Matters
This painting of a hanged monk confronts the viewer with the brutal reality of death, Goya's uncompromising realism and dark palette creating an image of shocking power that anticipates the existential art of the 20th century.
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