When "A City on a Rock" was purchased in Spain in the mid-1880s by an American collector, it was attributed to Francisco de Goya (1746–1828). The painting is now thought to be by one of Goya's followers, Eugenio Lucas, and may have been painted as late as 1850–75. Lucas studied Goya's techniques and managed to execute a painting sufficiently close to Goya's style to deceive most authorities until about 1970. Many of the compositional elements have been taken from autograph works by Goya (both paintings and prints), and it appears, therefore, to be a pastiche.