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Primary sourcePaintingc. 1796

Self-portrait on Linen

Francisco Goya · c. 1796

An oil self-portrait by Francisco Goya, painted around 1796, showing the artist's own face and dress.

Goya painted this likeness of himself, making it direct evidence of how he presented his own face and status.

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Oil painting of a man with dark, wavy hair in a dark coat and a white cravat with red and blue stripes, seen against a greenish-grey background, with a wooden easel edge at the lower right. His head is turned slightly, and he looks toward the viewer.
Francisco Goya, Self-portrait on Linen, c. 1796.

About this source

What it is

This is an oil painting on linen made by the Spanish painter Francisco Goya around 1796. It shows a man with dark, wavy hair wearing a dark coat and a striped cravat, turned slightly and looking toward the viewer, with the edge of a wooden easel visible in the corner.

Why it matters

Self-portraits let us see how an artist chose to present himself to the world, rather than how someone else saw him. Goya painted many self-portraits across his life, and this one captures him in his fifties, confident and direct in his gaze. It gives historians and students a primary image of Goya made by his own hand.

Look closer

  • What does his pose and expression suggest about how he wanted to be seen?
  • Why might an artist include a piece of his own easel in a self-portrait?
  • What is missing from this image that a written biography might tell you?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Francisco Goya on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Primary source

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Primary source

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