One of the most impressive paintings that will catch your eye when you visit the Carmen Thyssen Museum in Málaga is this completely relaxed "Maja with a Small Dog". It was painted in 1865 by the madrileño Eugenio Lucas Velázquez (1817–1870), one of the most popular artists of the Spanish Romantic period who is widely considered the finest successor to Goya.
Undoubtedly, Eugenio Lucas Velázquez is paying homage to Goya's masterful work, the Maja, of which there are two versions, one clothed and one nude. Eugenio preferred the clothed Maja to the nude Maja, which allowed him to tell a much fuller story.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Romanticism emerged as a reaction to the rationalism of the academic Neoclassical movement. It was a time when Spanish intellectuals were striving to modernise their society and forge a national identity distinct from that of their European neighbours.
The maja and her style of dress were revolutionary for the time, challenging the traditional attire worn by women in the 18th and 19th centuries. The maja dress was characterised by its simplicity and practicality, as well as its richness of colour and decorative flair.
It challenged conventional notions of femininity and fashion in Spanish society, becoming a powerful symbol of national identity and cultural pride. Because the dress was closely associated with the Spanish working class, particularly the residents of Madrid, members of the middle and upper classes adopted the style to connect with the common people and signal their support for the growing nationalist movement.
Eugenio Lucas Velázquez became renowned for his picturesque scenes of elegantly dressed majas displaying their skills in artful flirtation, if not shameless provocation. Apart from this specific painting, his other works typically depict majas in pairs on balconies, in bullrings, or alongside their male counterparts, the majos.
These charming representations of national identity in easel-sized paintings brought him immense success with his clientele. This painting represents the culmination of his oeuvre, standing as the most ambitious and spectacular of the artist's known examples in this genre.
A Closer Look at the Painting
A young maja sits outdoors by a river, leaning against a rock. She is dressed almost identically to Goya's Maja, wearing a light white dress cinched at the waist; however, this beauty's sash is blue rather than pink. Both figures wear a short jacket or bolero with orange sleeves, cuffs decorated with black lace, and pointed slippers of golden silk. This maja also carries a red travelling cloak.
The artist employs a particularly rich colour palette, applying the paint in soft, sweeping brushstrokes. The thick impasto makes her jewellery sparkle, mirroring the metallic highlights of her hairnet and the embellishments on her clothing. The silvery tones of the cloudy sky contrast beautifully with the vibrant colours of her attire.
The landscape, dotted with tiny figures, is typical of the Romantic settings of the period; here, however, those figures are bulls and herders. In 19th-century Spanish painting, bulls and bull herders strongly evoked the concept of national identity and cultural heritage. They were seen as embodying the country's spirit and traditions, and their depiction helped to reinforce these ideals.
Much like Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, her smile is ambiguous and somewhat elusive. Her lips appear to be both smiling and serious at the same time, creating a sense of mystery and intrigue. Her eyes are another striking feature of her expression; they downturn slightly at the outer corners, lending her an air of contemplation or sadness. Yet, at the same time, her gaze remains direct and engaging, establishing a clear connection with the viewer.
Sensuality, femininity, flirtation, seduction, virtue, purity, innocence, fidelity, domesticity, and devotion are all symbolised by Eugenio Lucas Velázquez in his Maja.
In her right hand, this maja holds a fan. In many cultures, the fan is associated with feminine sensuality and beauty. A woman holding a fan could represent the image of a beautiful and seductive figure, with the object acting as an extension of her femininity to emphasise her grace and elegance.
The fan was also used as a means of flirtation and seduction. A woman holding a fan could be interpreted as being playful and teasing, using it to convey subtle messages to her suitor.
In her left hand, she holds a red rose, which is frequently associated with romantic love and passion. In this context, a woman holding a red rose can be seen as a symbol of her own desire or as a representation of the recipient's desire for her.
This maja also has extremely long black hair pinned up into a hairpiece and a hairnet tied with a bow at the back. Women with long hair were often viewed as symbols of virtue, purity, and innocence. The idea that a woman's hair is a symbol of her femininity and virtue has its roots in many cultures and eras, but it became particularly popular in the 19th century.
Catholic women were often encouraged to wear their hair long and uncut, which was seen as a sign of their devotion to God or their husbands. Long hair was also associated with romance and a kind of fairytale aesthetic that gained popularity in 19th-century literature and art.
At her side is a white lapdog. In 19th-century Romantic art, lapdogs were often used as symbols of luxury, femininity, and domesticity. Lapdogs were small, dainty dogs bred to be companions, and they frequently appeared in portraits and genre scenes as accessories for the female figure. The lapdog was often illustrated as the faithful and devoted companion of its mistress, underlining the idea of the ideal female role as nurturer and caregiver.
In this context, the lapdog became a symbol of domesticity and the feminine ideal. Furthermore, lapdogs were typically depicted in a way that emphasised their delicate beauty and fine nature. They were shown wearing ornate collars and bows and were often positioned to highlight their small size in relation to the female figure, reinforcing the idea of the dog as a luxury object.
In summary, the artist used iconic symbols and a refined Goyaesque painting style to create a highly appealing maja that was able to characterise modernity and progress while preserving traditional Spanish values and customs.
