“Goya was an innovative painter and etcher and one of the great masters of Spanish painting. Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes was born near Saragossa in Aragon on 30 March 1746. His father was a painter. Goya's formal artistic education began at the age of 14 when he was apprenticed to a local painter. In 1763 Goya went to Madrid and worked under another artist from Aragon, Francisco Bayeu, whose sister he married. In 1771, Goya visited Italy. By 1775, he had settled in Madrid and was designing for the Royal Tapestry Factory. In 1786, he was appointed court painter to Charles IV. In the winter of 1792, Goya became seriously ill and was left totally deaf. This was a turning point in his career. His paintings were transformed from his previous Rococo style to a more expressionistic vision and he chose increasingly dark subject matters. During the brutal Napoleonic occupation of Spain, Goya saw at first hand the horrors of warfare. These inspired a series of etchings 'The Disasters of War' and two paintings '2 May 1808' and '3 May 1808'. In around 1820, Goya began a series of frescoes on the walls of his country house near Madrid, which became known as the 'Black Paintings'. In 1824, political upheavals in Spain forced Goya to go into exile in France. He returned to Madrid for a brief visit in 1826, but died in Bordeaux on 16 April 1828.” BBC History

1. From Light to Darkness
First created Jun 2005. Version 3.0 - 8 Aug 2019. Daperro. London.
Francisco Goya

2. Born in 1746, near Saragossa in Spain,
he began work in Madrid at the age of
18 (1764). His early works typically
painted gay and happy scenes.
Success came late, at 40 (1786), when
he was appointed as a royal painter.
In 1792 he was taken ill and became
deaf, which made him introspective.
His most remarkable works were
produced in this period.
In later life he produces a series of
bizarre, fantastic and dramatic works,
with a horrific and gloomy outlook on
humanity, the so called ‘Black
Paintings’.
Francisco Goya (1748-1828)

3. Maja & Gallants. 1777
Goya was the most important Spanish painter
in the 18C and 19C. He painted the Spanish
royal family, the French occupying rulers and
eventually the British liberator, the Duke of
Wellington. His painting skill was certainty
recognised during his life time.

4. The Parasol. 1777

5. Pottery Vender. 1779
In 1770, Goya visited Italy. Two
years later he married Josefa who
bore him 19 Children only one
survived childhood and Goya does
not seem to have been much of a
family man.

6. The Doctor. 1779

7. Grape Harvesting. 1786

8. Duke of Osuna. 1788

9. Grape Harvesting. 1792
Between 1775 and 1792, Goya made 63 full-size
cartoons for the royal tapestry works. The designs
had to be bold and colourful to make suitable
wall-hangings. Some of them are huge, the largest
being more than 20 feet wide.

10. Charles III (1786-1828)
In 1789, Goya was finally appointed Royal Painter
by Charles IV. He devoted himself to portraits,
which made him famous. Soon all Madrid society
was queuing up to painted by him.

11. Blind Man’s Buff. 1789

12. Duchess of Alba. 1797
The duchess was 35. Her husband died a year
before, so she was dressed in mourning dress.
She pointed to the ground, on which the
name ‘Goya’ was inscribed. Goya painted her
portrait ‘White Duchess’ two years before.

13. Saavedra. 1798

14. Asensio. c1798

15. Guillemardet. 1798

16. Queen Maria Luisa. 1799

17. Maria Teresan Borbon. 1800
Excellent rendering.

18. Charles IV. 1801

19. Charles IV (Detail). 1801
“Charles IV had neither experience nor
interest in government when he came
to the throne.” Encylclopedia.com
Six years after this portrait was
painted, Napoleon occupied Northern
Spain. He tried to flee America, but
intercepted and forced to abdicate.
Napoleon installed his brother Joseph
Napoleon as King of Spain.

20. Goya produced a nude portrait of the same woman with identical pose.
Clothed Maja. 1800

21. Nude Maja. 1800
The Nude Maja is renowned for the straightforward and unashamed gaze of the model.

22. Naked ‘Maja’. c1800-03. Goya.
Nude Maja. 1800

23. Dona Isabel. 1804
Painting details.

24. Lady with Fan. 1806

25. Three different personalities with three expressions - Goya is known for his combined
psychological insights into character with a gift for making his sitters appear elegant.
Goya’s Insight in Portraiture.
Confident, serene and
maturity look.
Naivety, mischievousness
and looking straight at
the observer when naked
(immodesty) look.
Jole de vivre look –
gaiety, cheerfulness and
sparkle.

26. In 1807 the French and Spanish armies
invaded Portugal. The war escalated in 1808
when the French turned on Spain. British
came to the aid of Portugal and eventually
secured Portugal, which was used to attack
the French and supplied the Spain.
On 2nd May 1808, ‘Dos de Mayo’. the
Spaniards began a popular uprising against
the occupying French army in Madrid, which
was under French occupation, since March,
when the Spanish King Charles IV abdicated.
The French repression followed, using
calculated savagery to terrorise. Some 5000
inhabitants were randomly chosen to be shot
on 3rd May as retribution. Then the Spanish
adopted guerrilla warfare to fight the French.
This event has a profound effect on Goya.
The Peninsular War. 1807-14

27. Six years later in 1814, after the defeat of Napoleon, Goya immortalised the brave event by
painting two large paintings of the insurrection.
The Second of May 1808. (1814). Goya
depicts ghastly and bloody confusion.
There is no sense of patriotism, just horror
and inhumanity.
The Third of May 1808. (1814). Civilians
shot in cold blood.
Dos de Mayo. 1808

28. Dos de Mayo. 1808

29. Third of May. 1808

30. The central group
His eyes are wild open
staring directly into the
barrel of the gun. Next to
him another man stares
fixedly on the starless night
sky.
The painting centres around four groups of
men, amid a lantern, as dawn breaks.
The first and most prominent group are the
men being shot.
Nearest to us is a friar with his hand
clasped, presumably praying, on his knees.
These are frightened men pleading for
their lives in a shocking reality
The man in a bright white shirt, perhaps a
half gipsy, has his arms outstretched in a ‘V’
sign, kneeling beside a pool of blood. His
right hand appears to be pierced at the
palm.
How would you described the emotions of
the men being shot? Defiance or despair?

31. Executioners & the Victims
Then there is the dead man on the
foreground, with his face covered in
blood. His arms also make a ‘V’ sign,
echoing the fate of the man in white
shirt.
Strangely enough the ‘V’ sign posture
can also found on the Second of May
painting of a dead soldier on the
foreground on the left.
What does this ‘V’ sign posture mean?
Lastly is the group of men lined up waiting to
be shot. They would soon take the place of the
man in the white shirt. Like a production line,
they would be next.
The painting is lit by a dazzling light from a
lantern, more like a modern day electric spot
light, but before the discovery of electricity.
The firing squad unlike their victims are faceless,
lined up with identical postures locked together,
like relentless and mindless machines. The
executioners always cover their faces.

32. Third of May 1808. 1814. Prado. Madrid.
These are the most horrific images painted by
Goya. On the Third of May 1808, Goya painted
French savagery on the Spanish rebellion of
1808. The executioners with their faces hidden
and the horror of the victims moments before
their death.
A Glorious insurrection or the terror of war.
“to paint and thus immortalise some of the
brave deeds … and acts of heroism during our
glorious insurrection …”. Goya.
Prior to Goya, paintings depicting war were
frequently used to commemorate victories or
to glorify heroic deeds or even to honour God.
Goya was the first to paint the true horror of
war. He painted the victims close-up with
expressions clearly visible.
Goya seems to have failed to portray the
heroism and the glorious insurrection of May
1808. But instead succeeded as a humanist in
giving us images of cruelty and the terror of
war. Thus leading the way in which wars were
reported in the following centuries.

33. Followers of the Painting
On the right is a painting by Pablo
Picasso, another Spaniard. It is called
Massacre in Korea (1951).
The painting on the left was painted by
Edouard Manet, in 1867. It is called
‘Execution of Emperor Maximilian’,
It does not show the horror of war, rather it
shows the broken promise of French
Emperor Napoleon III to Emperor Maximilian
of Mexico, when the French withdrew their
military support to Mexico in 1867.
Just one version of the painting survived
intact, such was the political sensitivity. A
cut-up version hangs in the National Gallery,
London.
Execution of Emperor Maximilian. Edouard
Manet. Manheim Kunsthalle. Germany.

34. Liberalism in Spain. 1812
The liberalism was a significant
movement in the early 19C. The
Spanish Constitution of 1812
was a cornerstone of liberalism
in Europe.

35. “The whole world is a farce; its
faces, its appearance, its voice –
all are a nightmare. Everyone
wants to seem what they are not,
all deceive each other and no-one
knows himself.”
- Goya
Life is a Nightmare
Goya worked for Joseph Bonaparte under
the French occupation. He was later
pardoned by the Spanish Court. He left
Spain in 1824, after a failed attempt to
restore a liberal government, on a self-
imposed exile in France. He died in
Bordeaux at the age of 82, his remains
were finally returned to Madrid in 1900.

36. On the right - Saturn Devouring his Son
is Goya’s most horrific and
unforgettable image. Saturn was
haunted by a prophecy that he would
be overthrown by one of his sons.
Above is an earlier cheerful work painted
in 1792.
His ‘black painting’ period followed his deafness and his
witness of the horrific violence during the war with the
French.
His Black Paintings Period

37. Colossus. 1808
One of his more well-known
Black Painting.

38. Chollet. 1806

39. Still Life. 1808

40. Savasa. 1808
Goya painted some of the finest
portraits during this period. He
started the costume much more
impressionistically, eliminating
unessential details.

41. Zarate. 1810
Details.

42. Pepito. 1810

43. Wellington. 1812
In August 1808 Wellington landed in
Portugal and won a decisive victory
over the French, ended with allowing
the French withdraw from Portugal.
War with the French reignited in
1809. The decisive battle came in
1913 at Vitoria in Northern Spain,
near Bilbao, when Wellington
captures the entire artillery train of
150 guns and an impressive collection
of art, which is now on display at
Apsley House, London.
However, it was he defeat of
Napoleon at Waterloo 1815 that
made him the saviour of Europe, one
of the most decorated military and
political figure in Europe.

44. Dr Arrieta. 1820
In 1792 Goya has a sudden serious illness,
which led to his deafness and partial
blindness.
In 1818 Goya has a second serious illness.
This painting was painted for Dr Arrieta, in
gratitude to his treatment.

45. Black Murals. 1820s

46. Leocadia. 1821

47. Milkmaid. 1825
This portrait is held in high esteem, but
art historian cast doubt if it is Goya’s
work. If it is she is like to be the maid
who look after Goya when he settled in
France, on his self-exile.

48. Muguiro 1827
This portrait is amongst some of the
very last portraits painted by Goya.

49. This portrait is painted by Vincent
Portana. It is one of the last portrait of
the painter. Goya is one of the giant in
the Age of Romanticism. He was very
an influential figures in Spanish art.
He is a follower of Velazquez and
Rembrandt.
Goya 1826
Goya was also a liberal minded, a man
of the Enlightenment, a progressive
intellectual. He turned his attention to
the world of the dispossessed. He also
highlighted the evils of ignorance and
superstition.

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Music – Mascarade by Ernesto Cortazar
A modern day execution.

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