The composer and theatre director Manuel Quijano was active in Madrid in the first quarter of the 19th century. In the portrait, brought to life by the vivacious intelligence of the eyes, he is dressed in the fashion of the day, with a high-collared shirt, cravat and fitted coat. This is an important picture, among other reasons, because it is signed and dated, and because it was painted shortly after the end of the Peninsular War. Goya's style here is direct and spontaneous, no doubt because he was painting a portrait of a friend.