Winter Scene

c. 1786

Two groups of travelers, one with a slaughtered pig in tow, converge on an icy road during a snowstorm. Goya captured the scene’s wintry atmosphere with barren trees, large swaths of cool grays and whites, and diagonal brushstrokes that convey rapid snowfall. This painting is one of a series of studies Goya created for monumental tapestries depicting the four seasons, commissioned for a dining hall at the Royal Palace of El Pardo in Spain.

Public domain · CC0
Free to download and reuse. Image courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.

Artist

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746–1828)

Date

c. 1786

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

34.3 × 35.6 cm (13 1/2 × 14 in.); Framed: 49.6 × 50.8 × 7.7 cm (19 1/2 × 20 × 3 in.)

Origin

Spain

Collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Credit

Bequest of Verde C. Graff