Boys playing soldiers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Boys playing soldiers |
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| Spanish: Muchachos jugando a soldados | |
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| Artist | Francisco Goya |
| Year | 1778-79 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 146 cm × 94 cm (57 in × 37 in) |
| Location | Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain |
Boys playing soldiers is a famous painting by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. He created it between 1778 and 1779. This artwork was a design for a tapestry, which is a woven picture used to decorate walls. It was made for the bedroom of the young princes of Spain at the Royal Palace of El Pardo. Today, you can see this painting at the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain. A smaller sketch of the painting is kept in the Yanduri Collection in Seville.
Contents
What the Painting Shows
This painting shows a fun scene with four young boys. Two of the boys are holding toy rifles, pretending to be soldiers. Another boy is playing a drum, making music for their game. The last boy holds a small bell tower, adding to their playful scene.
The Young Soldiers
Goya painted the boys from a low angle. This makes them look bigger and more important as they stand on a small hill. The painting has a playful and childlike feeling, showing a game of soldiers. One happy boy looks right out of the painting at you. This is a clever touch by Goya.
Goya's Artistic Style
Goya often painted children from different backgrounds. He showed both common people and nobles in his art. The colors in Boys playing soldiers are mostly yellow and blue. These colors help create a cheerful and bright mood. The boys' happy faces also add to this feeling. Goya's brushstrokes and the way he used light in this painting are very advanced. They even hint at a style of painting called impressionism, which came much later.
Where the Painting Hung
This painting was likely hung above a door in the royal chambers. Other paintings that decorated these rooms also showed children. Some examples include Children in a Chariot and Muchachos cogiendo fruta. Boys playing soldiers has similar colors to another Goya painting called The Pottery Seller. Both paintings decorated the same wall in the palace.
See also
In Spanish: Muchachos jugando a soldados para niños
- List of works by Francisco Goya
