Ignacio Garcini y Queralt (1752–1825), Brigadier of Engineers

Goya's portrait of Ignacio Garcini y Queralt, Brigadier of Engineers, painted in 1804, captures a high-ranking military official during the twilight of Spain's ancien régime. As a pendant to the portrait of his wife Josefa, the pair documents the Spanish professional class whose world would be shattered by Napoleon's invasion in 1808. Goya's military portraits combine respect for rank and uniform with an unflinching attention to individual character.

Goya's oil-on-canvas technique employs his signature loose, fluid brushwork with decisive, economical strokes defining the military uniform and decorations. The warm flesh tones and penetrating gaze demonstrate Goya's ability to convey personality with remarkable efficiency of means.