There is a degree of controversy surrounding its authorship. While some experts consider it the work of Eugenio Lucas Velázquez, others attribute it to his son, also an artist and a follower of Goya’s aesthetics, Eugenio Lucas Villaamil (1858-1919).

Although Eugenio Lucas Velázquez was known above all for small genre scenes with sombre atmospheres, he did on occasion use larger formats when he represented female figures, as is the case of this maja, for which he followed a classical model with a monumental yet sensuous presence, where we can appreciate Flemish echoes along the lines of Peter Paul Rubens.

The romantic figure, with a marked nostalgic and pensive air, is outlined against the shadows of a cloudy landscape. She is wearing a black skirt with a wide crimson sash and a tight corset with a generous décolletage.

The influence of Goya shows in the long curly black hair, adorned with a ribbon arranged like a tiara, where a jewel and flowers are pinned that match those used by Goya in the portrait of La Tirana. The technique emulates Goya in the use of impasto, the dense chromatic range, and the daringly loose brushwork, which speaks of a fast and carefree hand.

The piece was painted on top of another painting, a horizontal-format rural landscape that can be seen perfectly with X-rays, where we can discern a cart filled with straw in the left bottom corner, a copse of trees in the centre, and a house to the right.