In 1774 Francisco Goya moved to Madrid. He had been commissioned to design tapestries for the Royal Tapestry Factory of Santa Barbara. His age: 28. He had grown up in the provinces, in Saragossa, where he trained under local artists. He had secured the tapestry commission not because of his striking talent, but through family connections. He had got married the year before and his brother-in-law, a well-regarded painter in Madrid, arranged the job for him. Twice already Goya had tried to gain a foothold in Madrid, submitting paintings to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in the hope of being able to study there. On both occasions, in vain. He had then gone to Italy, where he received a special mention in a competition at the Parma Academy. Back in Saragossa, he was commissioned to execute a number of frescos in churches. But it was to Madrid that he longed to go; with its 150,000 inhabitants, it was the largest city in Spain, the seat of government, the residence of the royal family -and home to the Royal Academy. Since public museums and galleries did not exist, the Academy was the best way of making a name for oneself outside the provinces. Goya would later become a professor at the Academy, and even its director. But when he needed it, its doors remained shut.