Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes: The Straw Manikin 1791-92
The Straw Manikin is a happy painting that was made just before Goya’s dark era, when he painted in a somber mood. This work was ordered by King Charles IV, as a tapestry cartoon for his office in his palace.
The Straw Manikin portrays a playful scene based on a carnival tradition. Four young women are laughing as they hold a sheet and toss a male puppet into the air. The straw doll is wearing a painted mask and his arms are hanging lifelessly. Goya’s intention was to demonstrate how women dominate over men. The doll’s twisted body and the middle girl’s mocking face all support this thesis. Men are helpless in our hands.
This is a properly composed painting. The composition is a little asymmetrical, as the main character, the puppet, leans to the upper left side with his head and with his upper body. To balance this movement, there is a girl with her back to us on the bottom right side. The other three women stand facing us, dividing the space equally. The cynically laughing girl is in the middle of the picture, between the puppet’s legs, because in that way she is more visible.
The background is light and soft exactly where the puppet is, in order to emphasize him. There is a big contrast between the puppet’s dark coat and the white clouds. At the top of the picture the sky is full of gray clouds to frame the scene. It continues on the right side but not on the left side, where the puppet’s head is leaning towards. The lower part of the picture is much darker than above, probably because it is much less interesting.
The girls have nice, healthy, flushed faces, traditional Spanish costumes, headdresses, and big, dark eyes. They toss the doll again and again into the air, they laugh, they make jokes, maybe they even sing.
For me, the most powerful thing in the painting is the straw puppet’s loose body position, his floppy limbs and his head with that painted carnival mask. The girl’s expression in the middle is very memorable as well. She has malicious joy written on her face.
The whole picture is cheerful and delightful. Even though the straw puppet is helpless, he is jovial at the same time. This is just an innocent game, a little vengeance because the real world ruled by men, so why not play the opposite role? The carnival is only a short period of the year, when breaking rules is permitted, and there is social equality and lots of happiness. When the carnival is over, the father or husband will command their lives once more, so let them just play!
