Who painted Esto es lo verdadero (This Is the Truth)?

Esto es lo verdadero (This Is the Truth) was painted by Francisco de Goya in 1815.

Where can I see Esto es lo verdadero (This Is the Truth)?

Esto es lo verdadero (This Is the Truth) is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Esto es lo verdadero (This Is the Truth)?

Esto es lo verdadero (This Is the Truth) is associated with Romanticism.

Can I buy a print of Esto es lo verdadero (This Is the Truth)?

Museum-quality prints of Esto es lo verdadero (This Is the Truth) are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

Esto es lo verdadero (This Is the Truth)

Francisco de Goya , 1815

Esto es lo verdadero (This Is the Truth) is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Francisco de Goya. It dates from 1815 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

This print, titled Esto es lo verdadero (This Is the Truth), is an 1815 work by Francisco de Goya executed in etching, aquatint, dry‑point, burin and burnisher with umber ink on laid paper. The image survived only as a trial proof that was printed after Goya’s death, around 1870, by the workshop of Lefort or the state‑run Calcografía.

Subject & Meaning

The composition depicts a formally dressed woman holding a fan, standing beside a man whose head is covered with a shawl. At her feet rests a basket of fruit, while a dog lies on the ground. A storm‑filled sky with jagged clouds and a solitary tree frames the scene, suggesting a moral or allegorical reading that aligns with the title’s claim of truth.

Technique & Style

Goya combines several intaglio methods: the broad tonal washes of aquatint, the fine, velvety lines of dry‑point, and the crisp outlines achieved with a burin and burnisher. The use of umber ink on laid paper creates a muted palette, while the rough, textured strokes and stark chiaroscuro echo the artist’s late‑period graphic style.

History & Provenance

Although the design dates to 1815, the proof was not printed until the late nineteenth century, likely by the French printer Lefort or by the Spanish Calcografía, the official printmaking workshop. This posthumous impression reflects the continued interest in Goya’s unpublished plates during the period of his growing reputation.

Context

The image belongs to the final phase of Goya’s printmaking, a period marked by political unrest and social upheaval in Spain. His later works often merged Romantic expressiveness with biting commentary on contemporary events, using allegory and symbolic figures to critique the era’s contradictions.

Legacy

Goya’s experimental layering of intaglio techniques in works like this influenced subsequent European artists who explored the expressive possibilities of print media. The print’s stark visual language and moral undertones anticipate later Symbolist and modernist approaches to graphic art.