Description
Philip IV is presented on horseback, the royal rider and his mount combining into a single image of public authority. The equestrian subject makes the sitter’s position visible through scale and bearing, while the horse brings living movement into the formal portrait. The encounter balances the identity of one person with a format designed to convey power beyond him.
In this 1778 etching, Goya follows a painted composition by Velázquez. Translating the work into print allows line to describe both the rider’s appearance and the animal’s structure, giving a grand subject a more closely examinable surface. The image’s appeal rests in that meeting of observation and ceremony, where a recognizable ruler remains inseparable from the carefully arranged display through which his rank is presented.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Goya collection.
![Plate 36 from 'The Disasters of War' (Los Desastres de La Guerra): 'Not [in this case] either.' (Tampoco.) — Goya](https://www.trgfineart.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/334470-scaled-324x324.jpg)
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