The Night watch or twelfth night

This is a highly representative painting by Eugenio Lucas, the greatest 19th-century painter of subjects related to Goya.

Traditionally titled Night Watch, its iconography corresponds to another genre scene. It depicts a popular scene from mid-19th-century Madrid: the anticipation of the Three Kings on the night of January 5–6. The composition centers on a man carrying a ladder and a wicker basket on his back, surrounded by a festive crowd. It is set against a nocturnal backdrop against which a vague urban silhouette is outlined. Formally, the painting features a sketchy treatment of the figures, eschewing academic drawing and employing a nervous brushstroke resulting in small, abundant strokes. The nocturnal setting, the everyday ugliness of the characters, and their grotesque demeanor remind us of Goya’s paintings, inspired by the Black Paintings.