Brigadier Alberto Foraster

When one reads about the life of Alberto Foraster (1737-1820), one finds no hint of any achievements worthy of a portrait of one of the finest painters of the epoch. He was born in northeast Spain and became a soldier in the cavalry, but he seemed unable to get ahead in the army ranks. It was only after meeting the future Prime Minister Manuel Godoy (1767-1851) that he began making steady steps forward in the world. In the collection of the Hispanic Society of America in New York, there is another painting by Goya that shows Foraster from the knees up. An X-ray examination of the painting shows that underneath the painting was a portrait of Godoy by another painter. As a favorite of Carlos IV, who reigned from 1788 to 1808, and his wife, Godoy was able to exert great influence over society. Godoy also collected paintings. In his collection, he had over twenty paintings by Goya, including his famous La Maja desnuda (Maja in the Nude) and La Maja vestida (Maja Wearing Clothes). Also in 1803 and 1804, he had Goya paint a series of allegorical paintings to decorate his home. It is clear that Godoy played in important role in getting Goya to paint this portrait of Foraster. There is no consensus about whether this painting is a study for the painting in New York or if it is a replica of it. In either case, this small portrait lacks the vividness of Goya’s other work even though it was painted at the height of his artistic abilities. Perhaps the model’s personality was not especially colorful, or perhaps Goya did not put his heart into this commission. Whatever the reason, his brush has provided us with a stubbornly honest portrait of Foraster.