Francisco Goya

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish: Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes; March 30, 1746 – April 16, 1828) was a Spanish Romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings and prints reflected the historical turmoil of his time and had a profound influence on important painters of the 19th and 20th centuries. Goya is often hailed as "the last classical master and the first modern master". Goya was born in 1746 in Funde Todos, Aragon, into a middle-class family. He studied painting in Zaragoza in his early years and later moved to Madrid to develop. In 1786, Goya became a court painter to the Spanish royal family. His early career was represented by painting portraits of Spanish nobles and royalty, as well as sketches of Rococo tapestries for the royal palace. In 1793, a serious illness of unknown cause rendered him deaf, which became a turning point in his life. Since then, his work style has become increasingly gloomy and pessimistic. His later easel paintings and murals, prints and drawings seem to reflect his bleak prospects on a personal, social and political level, in contrast to his early pursuit of social status. He served as director of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando and was promoted to "Primer Pintor de Cámara" (Primer Pintor de Cámara) in 1799. During the Peninsular War, Goya stayed in Madrid, an experience that seems to have had a profound impact on him. His feelings can be glimpsed in the series of prints "The Disaster of War" and paintings such as "May 2, 1808" and "May 3, 1808". His late creations culminated in the "Black Paintings" from 1819 to 1823. These paintings were painted directly on the walls of the "House of the Deaf" where he lived. At that time, he was disillusioned with the political and social development of Spain and lived a life of near isolation from the outside world. In 1824, Goya finally left Spain and moved to Bordeaux, France. He died in 1828 at the age of 82.