The Burial of the Sardine Francisco Jose De Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828)

Description of Francisco de Goya’s painting The Burial of the Sardine

The painting belongs to the brush of the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. The exact date of its creation is unknown. It is assumed that the painting was painted between 1812 and 1819.

The central place on it is given to a frenzied crowd of people, carrying a banner with a smiling mask in the center. The title of the painting is related to a custom that originated in Spain back in the 18th century.

One day before Ash Week, when all the inhabitants of Madrid gathered in the central square for a three-day carnival, the king of Spain ordered them to be served sardines. Unfortunately for the monarch’s reputation, the sardines were not fresh. This unfortunate circumstance, however, did not upset the townspeople in the slightest. By this time they had drunk so much wine and other spirits that they found nothing more amusing than to hold a sardine funeral.

The action seemed so amusing that they decided to repeat it the next year. This time they used sardines that had been spoiled beforehand. The sardine funeral pleased the Spaniards so much that it soon became enriched with new buffoonish customs and rituals.

It should be noted that, as ardent worshippers of the Catholic faith, the Spaniards did not see anything sacrilegious in such a ridiculous action, so in Goya’s time the tradition was not forgotten. Judging by how vividly painted the actors in the picture, the artist took a personal part in the "funeral procession". In the Spanish capital the farewell procession was led by "Uncle Chispas", his daughter Chusca and the young lover Juanillo.

It was they who led the crowd carrying a huge stuffed sardine head. The procession began in the main square and ended at the shore of Manzanares, in whose waters the ill-fated sardine found its rest. Today’s inhabitants of Spanish towns and villages also honor a similar custom.