Circe Invidiosa
December 14th, 2015, 05:05 PM
I visited the exhibition "Goya: the Portraits" yesterday, and one of his first large paintings was of the family of Don Luis de Borbon, the Spanish Infante, with his wife Maria Teresia and their 3 children, a boy and 2 girls. The boy has classic length hair (he was depicted en profil)! I couldn't see his sisters hairstyle, as they were seen en face. He is seen wearing his light blonde hair in a simple pony tail, secured with a black bow. (The boy is on the left side, wearing a radiant blue uniform.)
I am not an expert on 18th century Spanish nobility hairstyles, so I was wondering if anyone here might know if long hair in boys was common? During that time most men wore powdered wigs. Other Goya paintings did not depict long-haired men. Maybe it was something exclusively for boys below a certain age, or only for boys born into nobility? Goya continued to paint members of Don Luis family at different moments during their life, the only other paiting at the exhibition depicts the boy as an adult when he was made a cardinal, with matching short, clerical hairstyle.
Here's a link to the painting, if it's not working, it is called "The Family of the Infante Don Luis de Borbón" (1784).
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/upload/img/Goya-X4134_432.jpg
ps. The Goya exhibition is absolutely wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed it! If you're in London, I would highly recommend a visit. Ending January 10th.
I am not an expert on 18th century Spanish nobility hairstyles, so I was wondering if anyone here might know if long hair in boys was common? During that time most men wore powdered wigs. Other Goya paintings did not depict long-haired men. Maybe it was something exclusively for boys below a certain age, or only for boys born into nobility? Goya continued to paint members of Don Luis family at different moments during their life, the only other paiting at the exhibition depicts the boy as an adult when he was made a cardinal, with matching short, clerical hairstyle.
Here's a link to the painting, if it's not working, it is called "The Family of the Infante Don Luis de Borbón" (1784).
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/upload/img/Goya-X4134_432.jpg
ps. The Goya exhibition is absolutely wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed it! If you're in London, I would highly recommend a visit. Ending January 10th.