Children fighting over chestnuts

Throughout his career, Goya painted several scenes featuring children. This series of six canvases has been preserved under the title Children’s Games, charming scenes full of action and movement, featuring children, which depict the harsh lives of poor children and the public’s indifference toward them. Three of the scenes in the series are set in Rome, Italy, and the other three in Spain. They showcase the unbridled strength and vigor of childhood.

In Children Fighting Over Chestnuts, the scene takes place on a hill, with Roman ruins visible in the background of the composition. A group of children try to catch the chestnuts that a man is throwing from the window of a building in the center of the composition. On the left, two are fighting. The figure of a boy smaller than the rest, dressed in a yellow smock and pulling a wooden cart, stands out.