In this class session, we learned about the artwork and some biography of one of the greatest artist Goya. I heard his name a few times in the art history textbook before but not very deep to look at his life, so this lecture will be an opportunity for me to know him better.
Francisco de Goya y Lucientes was born in 1746 in Fuendetodos, Spain. He was an artist whose multifarious paintings, drawings, and engravings reflected contemporary historical upheavals and influenced important 19th- and 20th-century painters. Goya began his artistic studies at 14 under Jose Luzan, a painter, and Anton Raphael Mengs, a German artist who worked as a court painter for the Spanish royal family. Goya’s career first took sharp in the 1770s, he painted tapestry cartoons for the Royal Tapestry Factory.
These featured scenes from everyday life, such as "The Parasol" (1777) and "The Pottery Vendor" (1779). Goya continued to rise in status during the 1780s, by winning commissions from many in royal circles, such as "The Duke and Duchess of Osuna and their Children" (1787-1788), he began to establish a reputation as a portrait artist. Later in 1788, Goya had become an appointed painter to King Charles III and promoted to court painter to King Charles IV during 1789–1808. However, Goya's career was briefly interrupted in 1792 when an undiagnosed illness left him permanently deaf. Although he continued to work for the Spanish royal family, his handicap led him to distance himself from public life as he grew increasingly bitter and depressed. Some said Goya had changed his painting style as he began to use the more intimate mediums of drawing and engraving. A series of 80 etchings published in 1799 In Los caprichos explored the corruption, greed, and repression rampant in the country. The subversive and subjective element in his art and his bold handling of paint provided a model for the work of later generations of artists, notably Manet and Picasso.
Goya's artwork was deeply connected to the era in which he lived. During the eighty-three years of his life, he constantly changed the style of his work from portraits for the court to modern themes of his own emotion, undoubtedly all of these artworks lead him to become a brilliant satirist. Goyal does play an important role in the development of Western art from classical to modern and I personally really admire what he had done for art history especially with his late art painting style. After Napoleon invaded Spain, his artwork presented out a serious, dark and melancholy atmosphere, which is not as same with bright and light as the early works of royal court painters, he captured the irrationality, violence and absurdity of everyone and political power, describing the dark side of that social intimacy.
I think there were just a few groups of people who were willing to truly express their own opinion. Because of his insistence and realism to society, I appreciate him very much at this point. Although he was afraid of being criticized by the Inquisition, he took back many of his satirical works. However later on, the people released that these works reflected the corruption of the society, which lead Goya to even more famous. I believe historical problems need to be faced squarely, no matter the society with periods of glory or even degradation, and all can be seen in Goya's work.
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