The Duchess of Alba and la Beata The Duchess of Alba and la Beata The Duchess of Alba and "la Beata" (or The Duchess of Alba and the Pious Woman; Spanish: La duquesa de Alba y su dueña o La Duquesa de Alba y "la Beata") is a small 1795 oil on canvas painting by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. It portrays the Duchess María Cayetana de Silva, 13th Duchess of Alba reaching playfully towards her maid (or "duena") Rafaela Luisa Velazquez (known as "la Beata"), who leans away. María holds a red cord under the chin of the older woman, which seems to scare her as
An account of the lives and works of the most eminent Spanish painters, sculptors and architects An account of the lives and works of the most eminent Spanish painters, sculptors and architects An account of the lives and works of the most eminent Spanish painters, sculptors and architects is a book written by the Spanish painter Antonio Palomino and dedicated to the biographies of the most eminent artists who worked in Spain during the so-called Siglo de Oro, the golden age of Spanish art. It was published for the first time in the original Spanish edition in 1724, entitled "El parnaso español pintoresco y laureado" and appearing as the third and last volume of Palomino's "El