Francesco Sabatini

In 1775 Goya was 29 and newly arrived in Madrid, still years from fame, grinding out designs for the royal tapestry works. Francesco Sabatini, the sitter, was an Italian architect the Spanish crown had brought north to remake its capital. He built the great stone gate still standing at the Puerta de Alcala and held real power over royal building projects. For a young painter finding his footing at court, a portrait of a man like that was worth doing well. Goya keeps it sober and direct, the face turned toward us out of a plain dark ground, without any of the biting edge his later portraits would carry.