Don Antonio Noriega

Don Antonio Noriega from 1801, at the National Gallery of Art, depicts a Spanish official in the dark, concentrated portrait manner that Goya had been developing since his deafness and serious illness of 1792–94 transformed his artistic personality. The illness, which left him permanently deaf at forty-six, had profound consequences for his art: unable to participate in the social life that had sustained his early career, he turned inward, developing the darker psychological ranges that would eventually produce the Caprichos and the Black Paintings. His portraits of the early 1800s show this transformation: where his earlier portraits of the 1780s and early 1790s had a light, Rococo delicacy derived from his tapestry cartoon work, the post-illness portraits have a concentrated, almost harsh psychological directness that prioritises the revelation of individual character over social elegance. The 1801 Noriega portrait, roughly contemporary with the Sureda pendants and other major NGA Goyas, belongs to this important transitional moment in his portraiture.

The oil on canvas features Goya's characteristic direct approach with a dark, muted palette enlivened by the warm flesh tones of the face, modeled with broad, confident strokes that create a compelling psychological presence.