Saint Joachim

Saint Joachim and Saint Anne were part of a series of murals that Goya painted in 1772 in oil on the wall, shortly after returning from Italy, to decorate the oratory of the Palace of the counts of Sobradiel, where the Notaries’ College is currently located. They were removed from the wall in 1915 and exhibited on the occasion of the centennial of the painter’s death in 1928.

The figure of Saint Joachim is rendered with quick, sketchy strokes; Goya used energetic brushstrokes for the clothing, and the figure, illuminated from the upper right, has an expressionist quality to its face.