Portrait of the Countess of Chinchón
by GOYA Y LUCIENTES, Francisco de, Oil on canvas, 220 x 140 cm
The stunning dress, of a still Tiepolesque lightness, stands out against a timeless, unidentified background; but what really strikes us in this portrait is the totally unidealized face, and the closed, melancholy, uncomprehending expression which verges on idiocy. This is Mar�a Teresa de Vallabriga y Borbon, Countess of Chinch�n, the daughter of Don Luis de Borbon and Mar�a Teresa de Vallabriga, and wife of Manuel Godoy, the favourite of Queen Mar�a Luisa.