Postcard from Germany

During the fiesta of Saint Isidore, patron saint of Madrid, on 15 May, the city dwellers visit his hermitage to drink the water from a miraculous spring that, according to tradition, the saint caused to flow. In the foreground, a group of majas waits for their companions to bring them water. In the background, the crowd waits in line for access to the spring beneath the imposing architectural mass of the hermitage. They are observed by two Guardias de Corps, who are among them and are recognizable by their uniforms. A companion to The San Isidro Meadow, this work is a preparatory sketch for a cartoon for one of the tapestries intended for the Infantas´ bedroom at the El Pardo Palace. The cartoon was never finished, but the sketch reveals Goya´s skill at giving the figures a characteristic dynamism and an elegant presence not overshadowed by the majestic chapel, despite their diminutive size.

sARTurday