Ritratto del cardinale Luis María de Borbón y Vallabriga

Goya already knew this face. Back in 1783 the young painter had spent time with the household of the Infante Don Luis, a brother of King Charles III who had given up his church titles to marry and was living away from court, and Goya painted the whole family, small children included. One of those children was Luis Maria. 17 years later the boy is grown, and in 1800, still only 23, he is made a cardinal by Pope Pius VII. Goya, by now first painter to the king, sets him against a plain ground in the deep red of a cardinal's robes, a small prayer book held in one hand.