The Churching of Women
c. 1787 Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Agen
About this artwork
This small-scale oil painting depicts the Catholic ritual of the churching of women, a ceremony of purification after childbirth. It is part of a series of small, satirical genre scenes created by Goya.
Did you know?
While Goya is often remembered for his later, dark masterpieces, this painting reveals his earlier interest in social and religious satire. The 'churching' ritual, common in 18th-century Spain, was a public ceremony performed to welcome mothers back into the church, but Goya's depiction hints at a certain atmospheric tension and skepticism toward rigid social performances.
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The Churching of Women
Francisco de Goya, c. 1787
