detail from Lazarillo de Tormes. Photograph © Private Collection/Giraudon/Bridgeman Art Library. Reproduced with permission.

TThis painting is by Franciso de Goya (1746 – 1828). It appears to depict a child with diphtheria and is referred to as "El Garratillo" (The Strangler), which was the common name for the disease in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when the painting was made. Treatment of diphtheria consisted of efforts to remove the adherant pseudomembrane obstructing the upper airway. Goya was a very successful court painter, but he also painted many ordinary people in the course of his 60-year career. The painting is done in the direct, spontaneous and realistic style that has led some to describe Goya as the first “modern” painter. Only 1 of Goya’s 6 children survived past childhood, but whether any died from diphtheria is not recorded. The painting was catalogued as "Lazarillo de Tormes" in a list of Goya’s works compiled in 1812; the name refers to a poor boy who was the main character of an early Spanish novel. The work belongs to a private collection. (Ann Arvin, Cover Art Editor)