Francisco Goya

Origins & Early Years

Who is Goya?

“The last of the old masters and the first of the modernists”

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828). Goya was a renowned and historically significant painter and printmaker working in the Romantic movement. Goya was born in 1746 in Aragon, Spain and studied art in Madrid early in this career.

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Vicent López Portaña, c. 1826. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Vicent López Portaña, 1826.

Portraits & Court Paintings

Charles IV of Spain and His Family, Francisco Goya. c. 1800-01.

Court Painter

Starting in 1783 Goya began taking commissions from members of the Spanish royal court. In 1796 Goya was given a paid position as a painter by the king. In 1789 Goya was appointed official court painter to the King Charles Iv of Spain and in 1790 was given the position as first court painter, a position previously held by Diego Velázquez.

The portrait of Charles IV of Spain and His Family was painted early in Goya's tenure as court painter to the king and is generally viewed as a criticism of the royal family as the painting is not a particularly reverential or flattering view of the family. The artist is also visible in the back of the painting and can been seen positioned behind a canvas and easel.

Charles IV of Spain and His Family, Francisco Goya. c. 1800-01. Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Portrait of Doña Isabel Cobos de Porcel. Francisco Goya. c. 1805. — *Portrait of Doña Isabel Cobos de Porcel.* Francisco Goya. c. 1805.

Portrait of Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos. Francisco Goya. c. 1789. — *Portrait of Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos.* Francisco Goya. c. 1789.

The Duke of Wellington, Francisco Goya. c. 1812. — *The Duke of Wellington*, Francisco Goya. c. 1812.

Victor Guye, Francisco Goya. c. 1810 — *Victor Guye*, Francisco Goya. c. 1810.

Etchings & Prints

The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters. Francisco Goya, c. 1797-98.

Ya tienen asiento. Francisco Goya. c. 1797-98.

And so was his Grandfather. Francisco Goya. c. 1797-98.

Los Caprichos

1797–1798

“The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters”

Between 1792 and 1793 Goya contracted an illness that left him deaf and had a profound impact on the direction of his work. On top of completing work for his court patrons and religious paintings Goya's began a series of eighty etchings and aquatint prints.

This series depicts the superstitions, the deceits, and the follies he saw in modern Spanish society. Los Caprichos are some of Goya's most well known works and were influential on the later early modernist movement.

The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters. Francisco Goya, c. 1797-98. Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Ya tienen asiento. Francisco Goya. c. 1797-98. Public Domain, via Minneapolis Institute of Art. And so was his Grandfather. Francisco Goya. c. 1797-98. Public Domain, via Statens Museum for Kunst.

Los Disparates (The Follies)

1815-1824

A series of etching and aquatints featuring depictions of follies or proverbs. Never displayed during Goya's lifetime these works were first displayed in 1864 under the title of Proverbios or Proverbs.

This series was never published during Goya's lifetime and was left incomplete due to the politics in Spain during Goya's life. The series consists of dark and dreamlike imagery and consist of twenty-two print and was first published post-humourously by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in 1864, almost forty years after Goya's death.

'Little Bulls' Folly' from the 'Disparates', Francisco Goya. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. 'Flying Folly' from the 'Disparates, Francisco Goya. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. 'Disparate: Una Reina del Circo', Francisco Goya. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Late Career

Saturn Devouring His Son (from The Black Paintings). 1820-23. Francisco de Goya, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Black Paintings

1819-1823

Featuring some of Goya's most recognisable work The Black Paintings are a series of 14 paintings completed by the artists late in life. The paintings were painted as murals directly on the walls of Goya's home in Madrid, Spain but have since been removed from the walls and attached to canvas after Goya's death.

Late in life Goya's developed a dark and cynical outlook on life that is reflected through the heavy and often morbid themes found in this series of paintings. Uniquely, since these were painted as murals inside of Goya's home it is unlikely they were ever intended to be seem by the public and they lack official titles and are referred to through descriptive titles give by historians.

Saturn Devouring his Son. Francisco de Goya, between 1821-1823. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Finale

Francisco Goya left Spain in 1824 where he moved to Bordeaux, France, He died April 1828 at age 82 and is largely considered one of the most important and influential Spanish artists of the 18th and 19th century.