Unseen Goya sketches make first appearance at El Prado

A new exhibition at Madrid’s iconic El Prado gallery has opened to showcase the intricate restoration work carried out on some of the most elusive chalk drawings by Francisco Goya – one of Spain’s most celebrated Romantic artists.

A series of 17 sketches, which are almost never displayed due to their delicate state, will form part of a special exhibition at Madrid’s famous art gallery, lasting until December 30, 2012

Among the pictures are 14 drawings in red chalk, referred to as the ‘yellow caprichos’ after a starch painting coated on to protect them in the last 19th century changed the colour of the images. But painstaking restoration has returned them to their original state.

And a never-before-seen sketch called The Street will also go on display, along with a drawing called I Am Still Learning, which is one of Goya’s most celebrated chalk works.

El Prado has the largest and most important collection of Goya works in the world and has recently launched a ‘Goya in the Prado’ website, so members of the public can access paintings, drawings and prints housed in the gallery.