Francisco De Goya: The Biography Of A Spanish Painter

Francisco de Goya was a Spanish painter famous for his portraits. He was a favorite of the Spanish nobility, which led to a large number of commissions.

His portraits were personal and realistic. He did not decorate his objects, but always maintained a naturalistic style.

Art historians consider Goya to be the best Spanish painter of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Consequently, his portraits, paintings, prints and murals were the beginning of the time of contemporary painting.

Childhood and youth

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was born on March 30, 1746 in Fuendetodos, Spain. His father, José Benito de Goya y Franque, was a master gilder of Basque origin. His mother, Gracia de Lucientes y Salvador, came from a farming family.

While still young, the family moved to Zaragoza. Only a few years later, when he was 14 years old, Goya began working as an apprentice to the painter José Luzan. There he learned to paint by imitating the great masters for the first four years. This was a common teaching method at the time.

Goya later moved to Madrid to study with the German painter Anton Raphael Mengs. Despite his education, his art was still rather rudimentary.

Goya tried to enter the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1763 and 1766, but was rejected both times. In 1771 he moved to Rome where he became a finalist in a painting competition. He returned to Zaragoza to work on several projects, but stayed only for a short period.

A few years later, Goya studied with Francisco Bayeu y Subias and eventually gained some recognition as a painter.

Francisco de Goya’s professional life begins

In 1774, Goya’s friendship with Francisco Bayeu gave him a way to enter the royal studios run by Master Mengs at the time. This year was crucial in the painter’s life because his paintings became more solid and original.

In the royal studios, his job was to paint tapestries for the Royal Tapestry Factory. This job was a real blessing for Francisco de Goya’s artistic development.

Over the next five years, he completed over 60 comics. His scenes were depictions of daily life. Some of his comics were used to decorate the royal Spanish homes in San Lorenzo del Escorial and El Pardo.

Francisco de Goya rose very quickly in the Spanish courts. In 1779 he was appointed royal painter and elected a member of the Royal Academy of the Arts in 1780.

In March 1785, Goya was appointed Deputy Director of Painting at the San Fernando Academy . Finally, in 1786, he was given the title of King’s painter , although he was still very young.

Members of the royal community began to recognize Goya as a talented portrait painter. In a short time he painted portraits of the Count of Floridablanca, Crown Prince Don Luis and the Duke and Duchess of Osuna. Goya earned his reputation as a portrait painter.

Work and style by Francisco de Goya

Goya painted a series of masterpieces that reflect his style and distinctive talent. Among his most famous works are The Black Paintings , The Naked Maya and The Dressed Maya .

Experts consider the Maya to be Goya’s masterpiece as much because of the history of the paintings as the paintings themselves. It is important to note that The Naked Maja  was the first painting in history to show a woman’s pubic hair. This was absolutely scandalous at the time.

In 1815, this portrait got Goya in trouble during the Inquisition. He managed to avoid problems thanks to the prayers of powerful people in his circle.

Historians believe that his paintings, entitled The Disasters of the War of 1810, are a representation of the May 2 uprising. The uprising took place in 1808 and led to the peninsula war in 1808-1814.

In 1814, the battles inspired him to paint D a third May 1808 and the second May 1808 (also known as The Charge of the Mamelukes ). These paintings show fear of the peninsula war between Spain and France and the consequent loss of human life.

His paintings had a significant influence on the artists of the 20th century who followed him. He has a special influence on Pablo Picasso, Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Francis Bacon and Édouard Manet.

Francisco de Goya’s personal life and legacy

In June 1773, Goya married Josefa Bayeu y Subias, the sister of his art professor. Only one of their children, their son Xavier, survived to adulthood. He later married Leocadia Weiss, with whom he had a daughter named Maria del Rosario Weiss.

In 1793, when he was 47, Goya became ill with an illness that would affect his personal and professional life. No one knows for sure what he suffered, but it developed quickly. It took Goya almost two years to recover, but the disease left him completely deaf.

Many historians believe that this disease marked the beginning of his black period. Of course, his illness also coincides with his most imaginative work.

In 1819 he moved to the suburbs of Madrid where he bought a house along the river Manzanares which he called Quinta del Sordo ( Deaf Man’s Villa ). However, he did not stay long. In 1824 he moved to Bordeaux and then to Paris.

He returned to Spain in 1826, but returned to Bordeaux shortly afterwards. In April 1828, while still in France, he suffered a stroke and died at the age of 82.

Goya was buried in Bordeaux at San Isidro Cemetery. His remains were exhumed and reburied in the Royal Chapel of St. Anthony in La Florida, Madrid in 1919.

Several films have been made about his life, such as The Naked Maja (1958), Goya in Bordeaux (1999), Goyas Ghosts (2006) and the documentary Goya: Crazy Like a Genius (2012).