Portrait de Marie-Louise de Parme

Goya painted this around 1799, the same year he was named First Court Painter to Charles the Fourth and the year he issued the Caprichos, his biting series of etchings on Spanish vanity and folly. The sitter is Maria Luisa of Parma, queen of Spain and, by most accounts, the real force in the royal marriage. It was made as a companion to a portrait of her husband the king, and the pair were commissioned by their daughter. For a long time this canvas was taken for a workshop copy, until scholars recognised Goya's own hand in it. He was known for painting the royals exactly as he saw them, jewels and all, without softening a single feature.