Title:Self-Portrait with Dr. ArrietaArtist:Francisco Jose de
Goya Date:1820Creation Place:Europe, SpainCredit Line:The Ethel
Morrison Van Derlip FundAccession Number:52.14 As court painter
to both Charles III and Charles IV of Spain, Goya achieved
considerable fame as a portraitist. Self-Portrait with Dr.
Arrieta, the last of his many self-portraits, was executed late
in his life. In 1819, Goya had fallen seriously ill and his
doctor, Eugenio Garc’a Arrieta, nursed him back to health. On
recovering, he presented Arrieta with this painting which shows
the physician ministering to his patient. The words at the
bottom read in translation, Goya gives thanks to his friend
Arrieta for the expert care with which he saved his life from an
acute and dangerous illness which he suffered at the close of
the year 1819 when he was seventy-three years old. He painted it
in 1820. This inscription gives the canvas the look of an ex-
voto, a type of religious painting still popular in Spain, which
expresses gratitude for delive