The acerolera is a cardboard for tapestry of Francisco de Goya, undertaken for the anteroom of the Princes of Asturias in the Palace of El Pardo. It has been exhibited in the Prado Museum since 1870.
Its format indicates that it was placed between two windows, or as an overhead. The vast majority of cards with narrow dimensions had such a destination. Analysis
In this composition a vendor of acerolas, with the basket loaded in the arm, looks at the viewer in the presence of three masked. Behind is a group of people who, together with the dog, complete the scene.
Goya plays with the image of the woman on this canvas that evokes a moment in the market. As it will in the military and the lady, of the same series, presents / displays two types of women. One of them, the maja, flirts openly with men.
Women sellers were common in Madrid in the late eighteenth century. The flirtation recalls La merienda on the banks of the Manzanares. Goya places the figures under an awning in order to focus attention on them. The illuminated figures and the background in semipenumbra contrast with the warm colors and strong strokes of the protagonists. It should be noted that the woman does not wear ornaments in the dressing room, perhaps Goya tried to prevent an altercation with the weavers - because he did not like a composition with too many details. Sources
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