Francisco Goya
On the 30th of March 1746, Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes entered a world of brick cottages and gilded altars in Fuendetodos, Aragon. His father José Benito worked as a gilder who specialized in religious craftwork for the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar. The family moved to Zaragoza when Francisco was three years old, leaving behind the quiet village that would later become his birthplace museum. He attended free schooling at the Escuelas Pías de San Antón where he formed a lifelong friendship with Martín Zapater. Their correspondence spanned nearly thirty years, producing 131 letters that offer rare insight into his early court life. At age 14, young Francisco began studying under painter José Luzán. He copied prints for four years before declaring he would paint from his own invention.
Francisco Bayeu secured his brother-in-law a commission for tapestry cartoons at the Royal Tapestry Factory in Madrid during 1775. Over five years, Goya designed approximately 42 patterns to decorate stone walls at El Escorial and the Palacio Real del Pardo. These works were neither prestigious nor well paid yet they brought him wider attention among Spanish royalty. By 1786, Charles III appointed him as a salaried court painter. The following year he became First Court Painter earning 50,000 reales plus an allowance for a coach. His portraits of King Charles IV and Queen Maria Luisa revealed a disinclination to flatter their subjects. Modern interpreters view the group portrait as satirical, placing the queen at the center while depicting Lot and his daughters behind them. The artist himself appears in the back left corner looking out at viewers.
Between late 1792 and early 1793, an undiagnosed illness left Francisco deaf forever. Contemporary reports described noises in his head alongside progressive loss of hearing and balance. Symptoms suggest Ménière's disease or possibly cumulative lead poisoning from the massive amounts of white pigment he ground himself. He became withdrawn and introspective while his work shifted toward darker themes. During convalescence between 1793 and 1794, he completed eleven small pictures painted on tin including Yard with Lunatics. Goya admitted these works served to occupy his imagination tormented by contemplation of his sufferings. The series reflected self-doubt anxiety and fear that he was losing his mind. These paintings marked a significant change in tone and subject matter drawing from dark realms of fantasy and nightmare.
In 1799, Goya published 80 aquatinted etchings titled Caprichos depicting foibles and follies found in civilized society. One famous plate bears the caption The sleep of reason produces monsters. Yet these prints demonstrated sharp satirical wit rather than pure bleakness. Capricho number 52 What a Tailor Can Do! showed how custom ignorance and self-interest made prejudice usual. The artist used etching as a medium to reveal true depths of imagination and political beliefs. His earlier search for ideal beauty gave way to examination of relationships between naturalism and fantasy. This shift occurred alongside official commissions for portraits and religious paintings. The Caprichos were completed in parallel with his court duties yet they stood apart as personal commentary on human types fashion and fads.
The French army invaded Spain in 1808 leading to the Peninsular War that lasted until 1814. Goya remained in Madrid during the fighting while painting works for French patrons and sympathizers. He kept neutral during the actual combat but later denied any involvement with Joseph I after Ferdinand VII returned to power. By 1814 he had painted The Second of May 1808 and The Third of May 1808. These canvases depicted battlefield horror and outrage against violence and destruction. A series of etchings known as Disasters of War followed showing consequences of conflict on individual soldiers and civilians. The middle plates recorded famine effects hitting Madrid in 1811, 12 before liberation. Final images reflected bitter disappointment when restored Bourbon monarchy rejected the Spanish Constitution of 1812. Art historians describe these scenes as a prodigious flowering of rage published 35 years after his death.
At age 75, Francisco lived alone in near-solitude outside Madrid at a farmhouse called Quinta del Sordo. The house took its name from the nearest farm which had coincidentally belonged to another deaf man. In mental and physical despair he completed fourteen Black Paintings executed directly onto plaster walls using oil paint. Around 1874, fifty years after his death, Baron Frédéric Émile d'Erlanger removed them from the walls and transferred them to canvas support. Many works suffered extensive damage during this delicate operation leaving only crude facsimiles today. Goya did not intend for these paintings to be exhibited nor did he write about them or speak of them. He felt alienated from social and political trends following restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. His unpublished art railed against what he saw as tactical retreat into Medievalism and reactionary means of social control.
In October 1824, Francisco left Spain for Bordeaux accompanied by Leocadia Weiss who was his maid and possibly his lover. She was younger than him by 35 years and had borne a daughter named Rosario in 1814. They lived together until his final days when he suffered a stroke that paralyzed his right side. During exile he completed La Tauromaquia series depicting scenes from bullfighting along with other works. On the 16th of April 1828, at age 82, he died and was buried in Madrid. His skull went missing shortly after burial prompting Spanish officials to wire back Send Goya with or without head. Leocadia received nothing in his will and moved into rented accommodation largely destitute. She wrote to friends complaining of exclusion but many were old men who had already died.
Francisco is often referred to as the last of the Old Masters and first of the moderns. Among twentieth-century painters influenced by his work are Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. They drew inspiration from Los caprichos and the Black Paintings throughout their careers. American postmodern artists like Michael Zansky use imagery from The Dream of Reason Produces Monsters in large-scale paintings. Beyond visual arts, Spanish composer Enrique Granados wrote a suite for solo piano called Goyescas in 1911. Russian poet Andrei Voznesensky created I Am Goya inspired by anti-war paintings while Fernando Arrabal wrote The Burial of the Sardine based on one painting. Films including Goya's Ghosts directed by Miloš Forman and Volavérunt by Bigas Luna have explored his life. An extensive exhibition of etchings appeared at Norton Simon Museum in Southern California during 2024.
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Common questions
When and where was Francisco Goya born?
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes entered the world on the 30th of March 1746 in Fuendetodos, Aragon. His father worked as a gilder specializing in religious craftwork for the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar.
What caused Francisco Goya to become deaf?
An undiagnosed illness between late 1792 and early 1793 left Francisco Goya deaf forever. Contemporary reports described noises in his head alongside progressive loss of hearing and balance which suggest Ménière's disease or possibly cumulative lead poisoning from white pigment he ground himself.
Which paintings did Francisco Goya create during the Peninsular War?
By 1814 Francisco Goya had painted The Second of May 1808 and The Third of May 1808 to depict battlefield horror and outrage against violence. A series of etchings known as Disasters of War followed showing consequences of conflict on individual soldiers and civilians including famine effects hitting Madrid in 1811 and 1812 before liberation.
Where are the Black Paintings by Francisco Goya located today?
Francisco Goya executed fourteen Black Paintings directly onto plaster walls at Quinta del Sordo around 1874 when Baron Frédéric Émile d'Erlanger removed them from the walls. Many works suffered extensive damage during this delicate operation leaving only crude facsimiles today while the originals were transferred to canvas support.
When and how did Francisco Goya die?
On the 16th of April 1828 at age 82 Francisco Goya died after suffering a stroke that paralyzed his right side. He was buried in Madrid but his skull went missing shortly after burial prompting Spanish officials to wire back Send Goya with or without head.