Blind Man's Bluff

Goya's Blind Man's Bluff from 1788–89, in the Prado, is one of his most joyful tapestry cartoons and belongs to the final series he produced for the royal rooms before his appointment as court painter in 1789. The painting depicts the popular game — blindfolded participants trying to identify other players by touch — as a sun-dappled outdoor entertainment, with elegantly dressed young people in a landscape setting that recalls the fêtes galantes of Watteau and Fragonard filtered through a Spanish sensibility. The formal qualities that would make Goya the most psychologically penetrating portraitist of his age are entirely suppressed here in favour of decorative charm and festive energy. Yet the technical accomplishment is formidable: the rendering of light through the thin fabrics of the women's costumes, the variety of gesture and movement captured in the multiple figures, the unity of sunlight across the whole composition. The Prado's comprehensive Goya collection, holding works from his earliest tapestry cartoons through the Black Paintings, allows this celebration of popular amusement to be read against the very different human observations of his late career.

The circular composition captures the game's swirling movement with bright outdoor colors and animated figure poses. Goya's handling balances the decorative requirements of the tapestry format with increasingly naturalistic observation of gesture and expression.