Zaragoza purchases a portrait by Goya

Francisco Goya (1746 - 1828)
Portrait of Juan Martín de Goicoechea, 1789
Oil on canvas - 86 x 66 cm
Zaragoza, Museo
Photo : Press office of the Gobierno de Aragón

December 18, 2007 — Acquisition — Zaragoza, Museo Provincial — Having decided to create a Goya department at the Museo de Bellas Artes de Zaragoza, the Spanish government and the Aragon region are implementing the necessary means to achieve their goal by multiplying their acquisitions (see also News of 13/6/07).
Another painting by Goya: the Portrait of Juan Martín de Goicoechea (ill.), has just been purchased through Sotheby’s for 3.95 million euros, the price at which it had been estimated after a request to leave Spanish soil. It belonged until now to the collection of the Marquise de Las Palmas.

Juan Martin de Goicoechea (1732-1806) was a close friend of Goya and a dignitary in Zaragoza. The work was painted in 1789, the year in which he was decorated with the Cross of Carlos III which stands out on his lapel.