el pelele

In the work called 'El Pelele', meaning 'The Marionette', painted by the Spanish Romantic painter Francisco Goya between 1791-92, four female figures are seen throwing a male puppet they made of wicker into the air. Well what does it mean?


First, let's quickly summarize the composition. Four female figures throw a man-shaped puppet into the air with a blanket they stretch, and they look extremely happy while doing this. We are faced with perhaps the most naive example we have ever seen of the 'Femme Fatale' narrative, one of the most fundamental themes of Western painting. Pictures of men falling into the trap of women are a very common subject in painting. Women influence male figures with their beauty and charm and put them in disgraceful situations. Male figures who are attracted to women are sometimes robbed, sometimes deceived, and sometimes killed. However, this narrative is handled in a more humorous style here. He presented us the dominance of women over men through a puppet allegory. One of the main reasons why he chose this subject is to portray the state of the changing and renewed man in the changing and renewed world.
The fact that the changing social structure in line with modern movements affected men's clothing, behavior and behavior was heavily criticized by some people at that time. The traditional Spanish man, now known as tough and dignified, had weakened. The puppet's costume is designed to reflect the modern Spanish man in general. Most importantly, the puppet is depicted with a blank smile on his face, giving the impression of being a fool. So, in this painting, Goya interprets the modern man as a puppet of women.
The owner of the painting, that is, the person who ordered it, is the Spanish King Charles IV. In fact, this work is also the first painting Goya made as a court painter. It is known that King Charles ordered a series of humorous paintings and he liked this painting very much. However, we do not know whether Goya chose the subject himself or did it at the special request of the king.

This work, painted as oil on canvas, has been exhibited here since it joined the Prado Museum collection in 1870. Thank you for reading. Stay with art.