introspection with the artist’s sarcasm for a society he
felt was in decay. Spain’s war with Napoleon in 1808
drove the growing menace in Goya’s work. Paintings of
French atrocities spoke for themselves, while etchings
and his so-called ‘Black Paintings’ of witches, giants and
devils revealed a more private torment of nightmarish
dreams and fantastic visions.The disturbing images
weren’t painted to commission; they were simply
daubed on the walls of Goya’s cottage on the outskirts
of Madrid. Monies earned from royal patronage allowed
such indulgence.
Goya left Spain with more than 2000 paintings, etchings, lithographs and engravings.
Lively debate continues about whether he was the first modernist painter or the last
of the old masters. Such was the breadth of his oeuvre, that he probably had a foot
in both camps. Three of Goya’s best-known works hint at this variety:
La Maja Desnuda(c.1800). A shimmering nude, staring unabashed at the viewer,
that eventually aroused the Inquisition’s attention and was confiscated. Goya also
paintedLa Maja Vestida(c.1800), virtually identical save for the addition of clothing.
Los Fusilamientos del 3 de Mayo(1814). Goya recollects the drama of the
Peninsula War six years after the event, painting the execution of Madrid’s rebel
fighters.
Saturno Devorando a su Hijo(1819). The most disturbing of the artist’s Black
Paintings shows a monstrous figure devouring a person. Goya painted the image
directly onto his living room wall.
Also running: 19th century Spanish art
Goya’s individuality has seen him crowned the
father of various isms, most notably Impressionism,
Expressionism and Surrealism. Some art historians have
tied his work into the Romantic movement that gripped
northern Europe in the early 19thcentury. In Spain, a
generation on from Goya, a rather motley ensemble of
painters struggled for recognition. Federico de Madrazo
Goya in three paintings
125
- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
Was Goya poisoned?
Modern research has
pondered the notion that
Goya’s profound deafness
was caused by lead
poisoning. The artist’s love
of pearly white paint (see
La Maja Vestida) would
have necessitated using
large amounts of lead
white pigment. And while
other painters often paid
some flunkey to mix their
paints, Goya apparently
preferred getting his
hands dirty. The theory
goes that contact with the
lead may have brought on
an illness that rendered
him deaf.
“GOYA IS ALWAYS
AGREATARTIST;
FREQUENTLY HE IS
ATERRIFYINGONE.”
Charles Baudelaire
