Stilts by Francisco Goya

Travel photography Family-friendly: true

1791-1792. Oil on canvas, 268 x 320 cm.

Two young men on high stilts head toward a window out of which a young woman leans. They are accompanied by two other young men on foot, playing the dulzaina. Groups of men wrapped in their capes and with broad-brimmed hats completely covering their faces, as well as women and children, contemplate the festive scene. As in many other works from this period, a straightforward, everyday subject contrasts with a deeper theme. Here, the stiltwalkers' effort to avoid falling and their gallantry with the lady in the window are a means of denouncing the struggle to survive that period's difficult social conditions. This cartoon was for one of the tapestries intended for Carlos IV's office at El Escorial.