When Flying birds left the studio of Francisco de Goya in 1786, it was not destined for a grand salon or royal palace, but rather as part of a decorative series for the dining room of the palace of El Escorial. This commission, organized by the Spanish royal court, placed Goya alongside other artists who were tasked with creating scenes of nature and daily life to adorn the walls of royal residences. Unlike his later, darker works, this painting belongs to a period when Goya was still establishing himself within the tapestry of Spanish court art, navigating both the expectations of his patrons and his own emerging style. Goya selects a fleeting instant: a flock of birds, caught mid-flight against a pale, open sky.

The birds are rendered with swift, almost impressionistic strokes, their forms dissolving at the edges, capturing both movement and the fragility of life suspended in air. There is no narrative in the traditional sense—no myth or biblical tale—yet the painting invites the viewer to contemplate the beauty and unpredictability of the natural world. The composition’s simplicity and focus on light and movement recall the animal studies of Jean-Baptiste Oudry, yet Goya’s birds are less about scientific observation and more about the sensation of flight itself, a subject rarely treated with such immediacy in Spanish painting of the time. The precise medium of Flying birds remains uncertain, as does much of its early history, but it is generally agreed that it was created as a tapestry cartoon—a preparatory work for weavers at the Royal Tapestry Factory.

Over time, many of these cartoons gained recognition as independent works of art, especially as Goya’s reputation grew. Today, Flying birds is valued not only as a decorative piece but also as an early example of Goya’s fascination with capturing fleeting moments and atmospheric effects. It stands as a quiet testament to his versatility and to a period before the shadows of his later works, now preserved in the collection of the Museo del Prado.