Pilgrimage to the Fountain of San Isidro

Goya applied oil paint straight onto wet plaster, a method that allowed the pigments to fuse with the wall surface, producing a matte, almost fresco‑like finish. The palette is dominated by deep blacks, muted earth tones, and occasional flashes of ochre, emphasizing the work’s dramatic chiaroscuro and the unsettling atmosphere characteristic of the Black Paintings series.

The mural remained in Goya’s house until the late 19th century, when museum conservator Salvador Martínez Cubells oversaw its removal between 1874 and 1878. The paintings were carefully detached from the plaster and transferred to canvas supports, a process that preserved them for display in the Museo del Prado, where they remain part of the permanent collection.

The Black Paintings were produced during Goya’s final years, a period marked by personal illness, political turmoil, and disillusionment with Spanish society. Though the exact narrative of Pilgrimage to the Fountain of San Isidro is ambiguous, its somber tone and ambiguous figures echo the broader sense of pessimism and introspection that pervades the series.