Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuñiga (1784–1792)

In the pictureA boy of three or four in a red suit with a white sash stands facing forward. A magpie is tied to the end of the string in his hand, and it holds a calling card in its beak. Goya's signature is on that card. To the right at the boy's feet are sparrows in a cage, and in the darkness on the left three cats, their eyes gleaming, glare at the magpie. The background is a grayish darkness.

BackgroundAround 1787–88 Goya painted this young son of the Count of Altamira, at a time when he was painting several portraits of the family. Birds and cats were common props in children's portraits of the time, but here they are read as symbols of evil preying on an innocent child. The boy died at the age of eight, and there is an interpretation that the painting took on the meaning of a memorial after that.

Puzzle tipThe red suit stands out at the center of the picture, so fix it first. The face, the magpie, the cage and the cats' eyes are the reference points. The wide gray background is difficult, but it is lighter at the top and darker at the bottom, so use brightness to fix vertical positions. The cat pieces sit in the darkness, so you need to zoom in to see them.