Cat fight

In 1786 Goya had just been named a painter to the king, and much of his work was still designing cartoons, full-size paintings that weavers would copy in wool. This one was meant for the dining room of the prince and princess of Asturias at the palace of El Pardo. Its long, low shape gives away its purpose. It was made to hang over a door and be seen from below, which is why the two cats, one black and one tabby, square off along the top of a brick wall with their backs arched and fur raised. Goya had filled a notebook with animal studies in Italy years earlier. He would return to snarling creatures again in his later prints.