Art that Changed Me | La Maja Desnuda by Francisco de Goya

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Meandering the gallery walls of the Museo de Prado in Madrid I was taken aback when I cam across La Maja Vestidia and La Maja Desnudes side by side. It wasn't that one of the paintings was naked that caught me by surprise but how much softer the naked image was in comparison to the clothed version. I remember sensing the energy of an armed solider in the clothed version. I was taken aback by how confident the softer naked women held. At 13 years old I had been raised to believe that a woman's body was something to hide and be shameful for; religious programing at its finest! I couldn't help but be enamoured at the way this grown woman lay comfortably naked in a way I had only ever been punshed for. It was one of the first times I felt freedom and also one of the first times I was proud I would grow into a woman one day.

As a highly gifted kid I was blessed to attend an abroad college program that introduced me to La Maja Desnudes amongst many other worlds of Francisco Goya. As I grew older the lessons I learned from the life and art of Francisco Goya grew with me but especially the impression of La Maja Desnudes.

The first lesson I took was that it was okay for me to take up space. As a life-size painting both clothes and unclothed the figure held her own space and energy; only revealing her softer self in all her nude glory. I wanted to take up space and be seen, not to have all he attention on me but to be recognized as a human with brilliant ideas; to not hide who I am out of fear of taking up space.

The first lesson I took was that it was okay for me to take up space. As a life-size painting both clothes and unclothed the figure held her own space and energy; only revealing her softer self in all her nude glory. I wanted to take up space and be seen, not to have all he attention on me but to be recognized as a human with brilliant ideas; to not hide who I am out of fear of taking up space. lek was that it was okay for me to take up space. As a life-size painting both clothes and unclothed the figure held her own space and energy; only revealing her softer self in all her nude glory. I wanted to take up space and be seen, not to have all he attention on me but to be recognized as a human with brilliant ideas; to not hide who I am out of fear of taking up space.

The second lesson I learned was that everyone has a more guarded version of themselves and that's the clothed version that we encounter everyday. It isn't until we are naked that we become vulnerable to everything and are confronted with the naked truth of who we are. I strive to be the authentic to my soft naked self in all I do, even while fully clothed!

As I grew older I learned that the very first painting I saw as a positive nude depiction of a woman is actually the first positive western depiction of a naked woman with pubic hair! It is considered one of the most profane life-size western nude art pieces to this day. While the painting was never held on display or owned by Goya during his lifetime it was owned by the commissioner, Manuel de Godoy, who had the portrait of his mistress, Pepita Tudo, painted between 1793-1799. It wasn't until 1813 during the Inquisition that the painting became public knowledge and were cataloged as obscene pieces.