Goya (Goya), Francisco, actually Jose de Goya y Lucientes - Spanish painter. Goya was born in 1746 in a village near Zaragoza, in peasant family. From an early age, the lively boy showed a great penchant for painting and at the age of 14 he entered the studio of an artist in Zaragoza. Having taken part in a fight with one of the religious brotherhoods, Goya had to flee and in 1765 ended up in Madrid. Love adventures and duels, very numerous in the strong and dexterous Goya, and the dangers of persecution by the Inquisition for one of the duels forced him to leave Madrid as well. In a troupe of bullfighters, gradually moving from city to city, Francisco Goya reached Italy and, finally, Rome, which had long attracted him.
Stay in Italy and get to know Italian school had no effect on Goya. And in classical Rome, in communion with David, Francisco Goya remained himself and took nothing from classicism: plots for his paintings, painted in Rome, Goya took from Spanish life and attracted attention to himself with them.
Francisco Goya. Portrait of Gaspar Jovellanos, 1798
Returning to Spain in 1775, Goya commissioned 30 sketches for the royal carpet factory. Contrary to custom, in them he reproduced not classic stories, but depicted scenes from Spanish life - folk amusements, games, hunting, fishing. These 30 very vital cardboards laid the foundation for the glory of Francisco Goya. In 1780 he was made a member of the Madrid Academy of Fine Arts, in 1786 court painter and in 1795 president of the academy.
Francisco Goya. Maha nude, 1799-1800
In 1798, Goya painted frescoes in the church of St. Anthony della Florida near Madrid and achieved the highest fame among the court and among the nobility. He was inundated with orders for portraits. Of the 200 portraits, the best are those whose originals fascinated Goya. Such are the portraits of queens Maria Josepha, Isabella of Sicily, and two portraits of Maha, dressed and naked, full of a peculiar sensual charm.
Francisco Goya. Maha dressed, 1800-1803
But Goya at that time, simultaneously with writing portraits in talented fantastic drawings, gave himself up to scourging with an inexorable satire of various vices of the aristocracy and monasticism and, in general, Spanish customs.
Almost one after the other, a series of engravings by Goya came out under the titles Caprichos (80 sheets, 1793 - 1798), Tauromachia (30 sheets, 1801), Proverbs (18 sheets, circa 1810). In 1810 - 15 years. he published 80 drawings of the Disasters of War, depicting scenes and horrors of the French invasion of Spain.
To the board Ferdinand VII Francisco Goya was forced to leave Madrid once again, and this time for good. First, in 1822, Goya settled in Paris, then moved to Bordeaux and died there in 1828 at the age of 82, still full of life, strength and indomitable energy.
Francisco Goya. Spanish King Ferdinand VII, c. 1814
Goya belongs to the most outstanding Spanish artists. His religious paintings and frescoes painted without an appropriate mood do not have of great importance. More important are his characteristic portraits, and especially valuable are his images of national life, in which he was the first, in the era of classicism, to discover Spanish reality and with all his strength showed a deep understanding of it and a brilliant realistic talent. Goya's engravings, full of bitterness and fantasy, are fresh and strong. As a painter, Goya subtly mastered chiaroscuro Rembrandt and light Velasquez. Sometimes he painted with impressionism and gave at the beginning of the 19th century. samples of what was performed in late XIX century impressionists.
Literature about Francisco Goya
materon,"Biography of Goya" (1858)
Iriarte,"Goya" (1867)
Lefort,"Francisco Goya"
Benoit, "Goya" ("Rosehip")
Bertels,"Francisco Goya"
Kan,"Francisco Goya"
The creative heritage of Francisco Goya - works, paintings - is diverse and multifaceted. He left behind about 700 works made in different genres. The approach to the sunset of life and loneliness forced Francisco Goya to create "black paintings". Let's take a look at one of the last masterpieces of the master.
"Saturn Devouring His Son"
Saturn learned that one of his sons would overthrow him. To prevent this from happening, God devoured them. In complete madness, with matted gray hair, staring completely crazy eyes, Saturn has already eaten the baby's head and hand.
His hands dug into the tender little body and pierced it until it bled. Some art historians consider this work as an allegory. Perhaps she symbolizes Spain devouring her children. According to other opinions, Saturn is the French bloody revolution or even Napoleon. We will return to the "black paintings" later. For now, let's look at the biography of Francisco Goya. Pictures with descriptions will be presented below.
Childhood
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was born on 03/30/1746 in the village of Fuendetodos, near Zaragoza. The family was neither rich nor very poor. Francho was the youngest of the three sons of José Goya and Gracia Lucientes. His father was engaged in the gilding of altars. In Zaragoza, children received only the basic basics of education. Francio was soon sent to study drawing by the artist Luzano y Martinez.
Youth in Aragon
In the workshop, the young Goya was engaged in copying Velasquez, Rembrandt. He simultaneously managed to learn serenades and temperamental dances - fandago and Aragonese jota, and also show his stormy temperament in street fights using Navajo. As a result of one of the clashes, he had to flee to Madrid in 1766. In the self-portrait we see a handsome young man, by which you cannot say that it is a fighter, a bully and a seducer.
In the capital, Goya sends his works to competitions organized by the Academy of Arts. At this time, he met Francisco Bayeu, who would later have a considerable influence on the life of the artist. Francisco Goya's paintings do not receive the expected prize.
Rome, Naples and Parma
Then the painter decides to go to Italy. There he studies the work of masters and paints pictures. Francisco Goya won the 2nd prize in Parma for his painting “Hannibal from the height of the Alps looks at the conquered lands”.
Legends say that Francisco fell in love with a young nun and decided to kidnap her. This escapade opened up, and in 1771 the young adventurer returned to his homeland.
Difficult becoming
At first, Goya works very successfully in his native Zaragoza. He paints the chapel with frescoes, then he was asked to paint the prayer house at the palace. Francisco Bayeu, mentioned above, offers him an order to paint a monastery near Zaragoza and introduces the artist to his beautiful sister, the golden-haired Josefa.
Marriage
Ardent Goya seduces a girl and is forced to go down the aisle. The birth took place 4 months after the marriage, but the child did not survive. The artist, having been married for 39 years, will paint only one portrait of his wife.
Josefa Bayeu
We see a clearly calm, self-possessed and slightly sad woman who could endure all the antics of her unpredictable spouse. Subsequently, she will give birth to five more children, of which only one will survive. He, like his father, will become an artist, but he will not get such a gift and talent.
Fame
Shurin begins to help the career of a gifted artist. With his help, Goya receives an order for a portrait from the Count of Floridablanca. Goya is then introduced to the disgraced brother of the king, Don Luis.
court painter
Don Luis invites Goya to paint a portrait of his family. After that, the glory of a portrait painter among the king's associates comes to Goya. Increasingly receives orders for paintings by Francisco Goya after he worked for the Duke of Osuna. He was also interested in Charles III himself, who made him a court painter. The next king, Charles IV, leaves Goya his position and even increases his salary. At this time, Goya adds the noble prefix "de" to his surname. Nevertheless, performing a portrait of the weak-willed Charles IV in the family circle with no desire to flatter the high family, Francisco Goya puts Queen Marie Louise in the center of the picture, since it is she who rules Spain with the help of her favorite.
On the left, at the easel, the artist draws his self-portrait. This picture is an absolute masterpiece of the master, where the entire space of the canvas is flooded with soft light. The artist offered men to dress in bright suits, and women - in light thin translucent dresses. Their faces are drawn realistically and with great virtuosity. The jewels are made using the impasto technique and sparkle in the flame of candles.
Illness and hard work
An incomprehensible illness caused deafness and partial loss of vision in Francisco Goya. He painted famous paintings even before his illness, being full of strength and joy. These are cardboard tapestries (there are about 60 of them) for the Prince of Asturias: “Dance on the Bank of Masanares”, “Mach and Masks”, “Fight in the Tavern”, “Umbrella”, “Kite Launch”. The artist will create his most wonderful creations in adulthood.
A young couple
The painting "Umbrella" was written among a series of cheerful tapestries. A young man shields his lovely lady from the bright sun with a Chinese umbrella. The scene is quite static.
The composition gives it dynamics: the movement of a thin tree is directed in one direction, and an umbrella in the other. It is strengthened by the hands of young people: the direction of the hand of a young lady with a fan and the elbow of a young man, as well as the folds of the yellow skirt of a flirtatious person. This canvas captivates with its juicy cheerful coloring. It sets off the youthful, uncomplicated joy that pervades this cloudless happiness. How much the Umbrella differs from the later Francisco de Goya, whose paintings were influenced by the Duchess of Alba! After the riots in the country, the satirical series "Caprichos" will appear.
Who are mahi
This was the name given to the men and women who came out of common people, impoverished inhabitants of the provinces, people from the Madrid slums. But mahi women are of more interest to us, since Francisco José de Goya will paint pictures with representatives of the aristocracy dressed in maxi costumes. For example, Queen Marie-Louise of Parma or the Duchess of Alba. Macha from the common people is a woman with a sense of self-respect who can stand up for herself. A knife is hidden under her clothes. Dances and songs, as a kind of national exoticism, attracted representatives of the upper classes.
The Spanish aristocracy was not averse to playing dress-up games. It could not miss Francisco José de Goya. The paintings "Machs on the Balcony" (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1816) and the portrait of Donna Isabel Porcel he wrote under this impression and in memory of the Duchess of Alba. This is very famous paintings painter.
Two swings
The artist Francisco Goya liked to portray free and proud townswomen. The paintings "Naked Maja" and "Clothed Maja" are companion portrait. Artworks for a long time were in the boudoir of the Duchess of Alba.
After her death in 1802, they passed to the all-powerful minister Manuel Godoy, and are now on display at the Prado. Relatives of the Duchess categorically denied that it was the 13th Duchess of Alba who was the model. Art historians are increasingly beginning to think that the portraits depict Manuel Godoy's mistress, Pepito Tuda. The image of two mysterious strokes by Francisco Goya are the most famous paintings, not counting, of course, the "black" ones. The legend of the love of an artist and an aristocrat remained neither refuted nor confirmed. Until now, rumors continue to circulate about their stormy romance, which lasted seven years.
"Caprichos", which translates as "quirks"
After the bloody french revolution the nature of the artist's work is changing.
His graphics in the form of 80 satirical etchings were created in 1799. There is not a single bright picture in it, only darkness and tragedy. The strokes of his needle are sharp, scratching. Politics, social issues and religion - everything was touched upon by the artist in his works: the ease of marriage, the intimidation of children during education, their spoiled parents, debauchery and debauchery of men and women, charlatans from science. A great many topics were covered. The most famous work of this cycle is "The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters". The fantasy of sleepy dreams brings unbearable horrors to a person.
Difficult years
When in 1808 Charles IV, who was hated by the people of the country, abdicated and handed over the throne to his son Ferdinand VII, he ruled the country for only a few weeks. He was lured to France by cunning. Napoleon, capturing the king, invaded Spain and crushed popular resistance with extreme cruelty. For five years his brother Joseph held royal throne, and Goya retained the position of court painter. This did not prevent him from painting a portrait of Wellington in 1812. So he aroused the hatred of Joseph. After the French were defeated in 1813 by the Portuguese, Spanish and British under the command of the Duke of Wellington, Ferdinand VII returned to his homeland in 1814. He believed that the painter collaborated with the invaders and began to treat Goya worse and worse. In 1819, the artist buys a house in the suburbs of Madrid.
strange building
The old 74-year-old artist called this house "The House of the Deaf". Goya liked to write at night, with the disturbing wavering flame of candles. His illness progressed and made him think about death. The painter painted the walls of two large rooms in oil on plaster with scenes, as if taken from nightmares. These are 14 paintings. Themes he took both mythological and religious. In them, faded and gloomy, everything speaks harshly and directly about the futility of human hopes and death. Goya painted pictures for himself. This is evidenced by the fact that he painted them not on canvases, but on the walls, not assuming that they would ever be exhibited. The artist worked quickly, using broad strokes, a palette knife, and sponges. One piece shows how an unfortunate dog is almost completely buried under quicksand. She will never get out. Only a raised head with longing in the eyes is visible. She didn't have long to live. This house was a continuous realm of horror and darkness. In 1878, when the German banker Emil Erlanger bought the house, the paintings were transferred to canvas. First they were shown in Paris, and then donated to the Prado Museum.
Late Troubled Years
After the death of his wife in 1812, fate gives the artist a farewell smile: he makes an acquaintance with Leocadia de Weiss. She is 35 years younger than him. Leocadia is divorcing her husband. They had a daughter, Rosarita. King Ferdinand VII directly tells the artist that he is only worthy of hanging.
Goya did not wait for such a prospect and went to Bordeaux with his family, ostensibly for treatment.
He will paint a portrait of Leocadia, full of admiration. In the history of painting, Goya will forever remain a gloomy romantic. In 1828 great Spaniard died at age 82. Just 17 days ago we celebrated his birthday. The ashes of the painter will return to Spain only in 1919 and will be buried in the church of San Antonio de la Florida in Madrid, which he himself painted.
The creative heritage of Francisco Goya - works, paintings - is diverse and multifaceted. He left behind about 700 works made in different genres. The approach to the sunset of life and loneliness forced Francisco Goya to create "black paintings". Let's take a look at one of the last masterpieces of the master.
"Saturn Devouring His Son"
Saturn learned that one of his sons would overthrow him. To prevent this from happening, God devoured them. In complete madness, with tangled gray hair, goggling completely crazy eyes, Saturn has already eaten the baby's head and hand.
His hands dug into the tender little body and pierced it until it bled. Some art historians consider this work as an allegory. Perhaps she symbolizes Spain devouring her children. According to other opinions, Saturn is the French bloody revolution or even Napoleon. We will return to the "black paintings" later. For now, let's look at the biography of Francisco Goya. Pictures with descriptions will be presented below.
Childhood
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was born on 03/30/1746 in the village of Fuendetodos, near Zaragoza. The family was neither rich nor very poor. Francho was the youngest of the three sons of José Goya and Gracia Lucientes. His father was engaged in the gilding of altars. In Zaragoza, children received only the basic basics of education. Francio was soon sent to study drawing by the artist Luzano y Martinez.
Youth in Aragon
In the workshop, the young Goya was engaged in copying Velasquez, Rembrandt. At the same time, he managed to learn serenades and temperamental dances - fandago and Aragonese jota, and also show his stormy temperament in street fights using Navajos. As a result of one of the clashes, he had to flee to Madrid in 1766. On the self-portrait, we see a handsome young man who cannot be said to be a fighter, a bully and a seducer.
In the capital, Goya sends his works to competitions organized by the Academy of Arts. At this time, he met Francisco Bayeu, who would later have a considerable influence on the life of the artist. Francisco Goya's paintings do not receive the expected prize.
Rome, Naples and Parma
Then the painter decides to go to Italy. There he studies the work of masters and paints pictures. Francisco Goya won the 2nd prize in Parma for his painting “Hannibal from the height of the Alps looks at the conquered lands”.
Legends say that Francisco fell in love with a young nun and decided to kidnap her. This escapade opened up, and in 1771 the young adventurer returned to his homeland.
Difficult becoming
At first, Goya works very successfully in his native Zaragoza. He paints the chapel with frescoes, then he was asked to paint the prayer house at the palace. Francisco Bayeu, mentioned above, offers him an order to paint a monastery near Zaragoza and introduces the artist to his beautiful sister, the golden-haired Josefa.
Marriage
Ardent Goya seduces a girl and is forced to go down the aisle. The birth took place 4 months after the marriage, but the child did not survive. The artist, having been married for 39 years, will paint only one portrait of his wife.
Josefa Bayeu
We see a clearly calm, self-possessed and a little sad woman who could endure all the antics of her unpredictable spouse. Subsequently, she will give birth to five more children, of which only one will survive. He, like his father, will become an artist, but he will not get such a gift and talent.
Fame
Shurin begins to help the career of a gifted artist. With his help, Goya receives an order for a portrait from the Count of Floridablanca. Goya is then introduced to the disgraced brother of the king, Don Luis.
court painter
Don Luis invites Goya to paint a portrait of his family. After that, the glory of a portrait painter among the king's associates comes to Goya. Increasingly receives orders for paintings by Francisco Goya after he worked for the Duke of Osuna. He was also interested in Charles III himself, who made him a court painter. The next king, Charles IV, leaves Goya his position and even increases his salary. At this time, Goya adds the noble prefix "de" to his surname. Nevertheless, performing a portrait of the weak-willed Charles IV in the family circle with no desire to flatter the high family, Francisco Goya puts Queen Marie Louise in the center of the picture, since it is she who rules Spain with the help of her favorite.
On the left, at the easel, the artist draws his self-portrait. This picture is an absolute masterpiece of the master, where the entire space of the canvas is flooded with soft light. The artist offered men to dress in bright suits, and women - in light thin translucent dresses. Their faces are drawn realistically and with great virtuosity. The jewels are made using the impasto technique and sparkle in the flame of candles.
Illness and hard work
An incomprehensible illness caused deafness and partial loss of vision in Francisco Goya. He painted famous paintings even before his illness, being full of strength and joy. These are cardboard tapestries (there are about 60 of them) for the Prince of Asturias: “Dance on the Bank of Masanares”, “Mach and Masks”, “Fight in the Tavern”, “Umbrella”, “Kite Launch”. The artist will create his most wonderful creations in adulthood.
A young couple
The painting "Umbrella" was written among a series of cheerful tapestries. A young man shields his lovely lady from the bright sun with a Chinese umbrella. The scene is quite static.
The composition gives it dynamics: the movement of a thin tree is directed in one direction, and an umbrella in the other. It is strengthened by the hands of young people: the direction of the hand of a young lady with a fan and the elbow of a young man, as well as the folds of the yellow skirt of a flirtatious person. This canvas captivates with its juicy cheerful coloring. It sets off the youthful, uncomplicated joy that pervades this cloudless happiness. How much the Umbrella differs from the later Francisco de Goya, whose paintings were influenced by the Duchess of Alba! After the riots in the country, the satirical series "Caprichos" will appear.
Who are mahi
So called men and women who came from the common people, the impoverished inhabitants of the provinces, people from the Madrid slums. But mahi women are of more interest to us, since Francisco José de Goya will paint pictures with representatives of the aristocracy dressed in maxi costumes. For example, Queen Marie-Louise of Parma or the Duchess of Alba. Macha from the common people is a woman with a sense of self-respect who can stand up for herself. A knife is hidden under her clothes. Dances and songs, as a kind of national exoticism, attracted representatives of the upper classes.
The Spanish aristocracy was not averse to playing dress-up games. It could not miss Francisco José de Goya. The paintings "Machs on the Balcony" (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1816) and the portrait of Donna Isabel Porcel he wrote under this impression and in memory of the Duchess of Alba. These are very famous paintings of the painter.
Two swings
The artist Francisco Goya liked to portray free and proud townswomen. The paintings "Maja naked" and "Maja dressed" make up a paired portrait. The works were kept in the boudoir of the Duchess of Alba for a long time.
After her death in 1802, they passed to the all-powerful minister Manuel Godoy, and are now on display at the Prado. Relatives of the Duchess categorically denied that it was the 13th Duchess of Alba who was the model. Art historians are increasingly beginning to think that the portraits depict Manuel Godoy's mistress, Pepito Tuda. The image of two mysterious strokes by Francisco Goya are the most famous paintings, not counting, of course, the "black" ones. The legend of the love of an artist and an aristocrat remained neither refuted nor confirmed. Until now, rumors continue to circulate about their stormy romance, which lasted seven years.
"Caprichos", which translates as "quirks"
After the bloody French Revolution, the nature of the artist's work is changing.
His graphics in the form of 80 satirical etchings were created in 1799. There is not a single bright picture in it, only darkness and tragedy. The strokes of his needle are sharp, scratching. Politics, social issues and religion - everything was touched upon by the artist in his works: the ease of marriage, the intimidation of children during education, their spoiled parents, debauchery and debauchery of men and women, charlatans from science. A great many topics were covered. The most famous work of this cycle is "The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters". The fantasy of sleepy dreams brings unbearable horrors to a person.
Difficult years
When in 1808 Charles IV, who was hated by the people of the country, abdicated and handed over the throne to his son Ferdinand VII, he ruled the country for only a few weeks. He was lured to France by cunning. Napoleon, capturing the king, invaded Spain and crushed popular resistance with extreme cruelty. For five years, his brother Joseph occupied the royal throne, and Goya retained the position of court painter. This did not prevent him from painting a portrait of Wellington in 1812. So he aroused the hatred of Joseph. After the French were defeated in 1813 by the Portuguese, Spanish and British under the command of the Duke of Wellington, Ferdinand VII returned to his homeland in 1814. He believed that the painter collaborated with the invaders and began to treat Goya worse and worse. In 1819, the artist buys a house in the suburbs of Madrid.
strange building
The old 74-year-old artist called this house "The House of the Deaf". Goya liked to write at night, with the disturbing wavering flame of candles. His illness progressed and made him think about death. The painter painted the walls of two large rooms in oil on plaster with scenes, as if taken from nightmares. These are 14 paintings. Themes he took both mythological and religious. In them, faded and gloomy, everything speaks harshly and directly about the futility of human hopes and death. Goya painted pictures for himself. This is evidenced by the fact that he painted them not on canvases, but on the walls, not assuming that they would ever be exhibited. The artist worked quickly, using broad strokes, a palette knife, and sponges. One piece shows how an unfortunate dog is almost completely buried under quicksand. She will never get out. Only a raised head with longing in the eyes is visible. She didn't have long to live. This house was a continuous realm of horror and darkness. In 1878, when the German banker Emil Erlanger bought the house, the paintings were transferred to canvas. First they were shown in Paris, and then donated to the Prado Museum.
Late Troubled Years
After the death of his wife in 1812, fate gives the artist a farewell smile: he makes an acquaintance with Leocadia de Weiss. She is 35 years younger than him. Leocadia is divorcing her husband. They had a daughter, Rosarita. King Ferdinand VII directly tells the artist that he is only worthy of hanging.
Goya did not wait for such a prospect and went to Bordeaux with his family, ostensibly for treatment.
He will paint a portrait of Leocadia, full of admiration. In the history of painting, Goya will forever remain a gloomy romantic. In 1828 the great Spaniard died at the age of 82. Just 17 days ago we celebrated his birthday. The ashes of the painter will return to Spain only in 1919 and will be buried in the church of San Antonio de la Florida in Madrid, which he himself painted.
Presenting his work, the young man hopes to study at the Royal Academy of Arts in San Fernando.
Unfortunately, the picture did not pass the selection. And Goya decided to go to study and work in Italy. Having reached Rome, the artist studies the paintings of the great Italian masters. But adventurous nature and here makes itself felt. The young man decided to kidnap his beloved, who was in a convent, but was caught right at the scene of the crime. Therefore, he had to hastily flee from Rome.
Formation
The ambitious artist went to Madrid in 1773, where he settled with his friend Francisco Bayeu, who at that time held the position of court painter for Queen Maria Luisa and King Charles IV. Goya works mainly in the Bayeu workshop. A friend introduces the artist to his sister Josefa. The impressionable Goya fell in love and seduced the beauty. In 1775, he had to marry her, because the lady of the heart was already in her fifth month of pregnancy. The couple soon had a son, Eusebio, who did not live long.
Josefa gave birth to Goya five children, although some sources report that there were more. Unfortunately, only one son survived to adulthood - Francisco Javier Pedro, he followed in his father's footsteps, although he did not achieve such fame, but nevertheless became an artist.
The adventurous genius quickly got fed up with his wife, and as soon as he was surrounded by court aristocrats, he ceased to be interested in her. In his entire life, he painted only one portrait of his wife.
Fame
In 1780, the artist managed to achieve a reception at court. Thanks to a successful portrait of King Charles III and the painting "Crucifixion", Goya was admitted to the Royal Academy. In 1785 he became vice-director, in 1795 - director of the painting department.In 1786, the long-awaited position of court painter was achieved, which was retained by the master even after the death of Charles III in 1799. Charles IV left this place for Goya.
In 1791, the fateful acquaintance of the artist with the Duchess of Alba takes place. She is on long years becomes his patroness and muse.
In 1792-1793, Goya was seriously ill. This disease takes away the artist's hearing. In the process of recovery, work began on the etchings of Caprichos, which was completed only in 1799. The whole series was satirical, exposing the shortcomings of social, political and religious orders.
In 1796, the Duke of Alba, patron and husband of the artist's muse, dies. Goya accompanies his beloved to Andalusia, where she mourns the loss of her husband. Approximately at this time appears famous painting Maja Nude, dated 1797.
Charles IV in 1798 gave the task to the court painter - painting the dome in the church of San Antonio de la Florida, located outside the city.
In 1802, the Clothed Maja was created, which can be seen in the Prado. In the same year, the Duchess of Alba died and bequeathed to the son of her beloved Javier Goya an annuity of 3,500 reais annually. In memory of the muse, the artist writes in 1816 "Mahu on the Balcony".
Later years
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When the son married and began to live separately with his wife, the elderly Goya was left alone. For several difficult years for himself, he lived in "Quinta del Sordo" - "House of the Deaf" outside the city. In the period from 1820 to 1823, the artist painted the walls with oil. Today these paintings can be seen in the Prado.
Loneliness ended with the acquaintance with Leocadia de Weiss. Because of the artist, she divorces her entrepreneurial husband Isidro Weiss. From Goya, Leocadia gave birth to a daughter, Rosarita.
To avoid persecution by the new Spanish government, the artist's family moved to France in 1824. Goya lived there until his death on April 16, 1828.
Here in Bordeaux, he masters lithography, paints portraits of new emigrant friends. Especially known from french period a series of 1826 "Bulls of Bordeaux" and the canvas "The Milkmaid from Bordeaux", written in 1827-1828. The influence of Francisco José de Goya on the European visual arts cannot be overestimated.
Traveling in 1824 in Spain, Eugene Delacroix wrote in his diary "Goya trembled around me." Goya is not only the most national artist Spain, the formation of the art of the New Age is associated with his name.
The work of Goya, a contemporary of the French Revolution, the national liberation war of Spain with Napoleonic France, the rapid rise social forces and brutal reaction, fell on one of the most dramatic periods of Spanish history. It combined the advanced thought of the era and the echoes of sustainable folk performances, latitude public positions and the strongest imprint of his subjective experiences, fiery temperament, impulsive nature, boundless imagination. Exciting power emanates from Goya's art, it is truly inexhaustible and not subject to cold analysis. His artistic language sharply naked, mercilessly sharp and at the same time complicated, encrypted, changeably mobile, sometimes difficult to explain.
Goya was born in the village of Fuendestodos near Zaragoza in the family of a gilder. He studied in Zaragoza with J. Lusan Martinez, then in Madrid with F. Bayeu, whose daughter, Josef, he married in 1773. The turbulent, adventure-filled youth of Goya is little known. He visited Italy, where he participated in the competition of the Parma Academy and received the second prize. From 1773 he lived and worked in Madrid, in 1786 he was appointed court painter.
How major artist Goya formed relatively late. The first significant success brought him two series (1776-1791) of numerous panels (carpet boards) for the Royal Manufactory of Santa Barbara in Madrid, which depict walks, picnics, dances, feasts of urban youth, scenes in the markets, laundresses on the banks of the Manzanares, the poor at the well, a blind guitarist, a village wedding. decorative painting Goya enriched compositions with innovations, enlargement of figures, colorfulness of coloristic finds, and most importantly - a direct sense of national life, perceived by him not by the gaze of an outside observer, but as if from within; this environment was familiar to him from his youth.
Written in 1777, The Umbrella (Madrid, Prado) does not have a developed plot. fashionable at the time genre painting the motif inspired him to create a captivating pictorial image in which the girl's face and part of her figure, shaded by a green umbrella from the rays of the sun, are full of light colorful reflections. Here you can see how much Goya owes to Velasquez, whom, along with nature and Rembrandt, he considered his teacher.
Goya became a fashionable portrait painter inundated with commissions. It is difficult to find another great portrait painter who would so resolutely show his personal attitude towards the people he depicts. For some of them, he remained completely indifferent, and then his custom-made portraits seem strangely lifeless, stiff. An artist who has an impeccable command of plastic form becomes unexpectedly helpless and allows negligence in drawing and composition. It is no coincidence that in a letter to a friend of Goya, the director of the Royal Academy of History asks to influence the artist so that he paints his portrait "as he can, when he wants."
In the portraits of Goya, the society of that time is represented in all its breadth. Its amazing scope creative evolution from formal portraits to traditions of the XVIII centuries to works that anticipate the most daring conquests Art XIX centuries. Goya's proximity to advanced people Spain filled his art with a new sense of life. Among his friends are writers, poets, politicians, actors. He treats their portraits with special care (portraits of the artist F. Bayeu, Dr. Peral, public figure Jovellanos, poet L. Moratin). At the beginning of the 19th century in portrait images Goyas, full of energy, self-confidence, features appear close to the ideals of the era of romanticism. In the famous portrait of Isabel Cobos de Porcel (1806, London, National Gallery) the appearance of a young flowering woman with a fiery gaze and in black Spanish lace is marked by a sharp national character.
By the end of the century court career Goya, which reached its zenith in 1799, when he became the king's first painter, brought him much bitterness and disappointment.
At the end of the 1790s, more and more clearly and sharply perceiving the dark and ugly aspects of life around him, Goya experienced a spiritual crisis, aggravated by hearing loss as a result of a serious illness. The artist endured his deafness with rare courage, trying to find means of communication with the outside world.
Powerful impulses of creative inspiration dominated controversial nature Goya. Late XVIII century was marked in his work by high artistic achievements. He completed a series of etchings Caprichos, which included him among the world's greatest masters of graphic art. In this unsurpassed example of the tragic grotesque, Goya exposed the ulcers of feudal Catholic Spain.
In 1798, Goya created frescoes for the Madrid church of San Antonio de la Florida. A bright, life-affirming beginning triumphs in them. The painting on the dome depicts medieval legend about the miraculous resurrection in Lisbon by Saint Anthony of Padua of a murdered man who named the name of his real murderer. The miracle is transferred by the artist to the atmosphere of his contemporary life, takes place against the backdrop of free Castilian nature, under open sky, in the presence of a discordant crowd. Church murals - Goya's grandiose conquest as a master monumental painting. They were greeted with enthusiasm and enthusiasm; one of his biographers wrote that two miracles took place in Madrid, one by Anthony of Padua, the other by the artist Goya.
In June 1800, Goya proceeded to "Portrait of the Family of King Charles IV" (Madrid, Prado), which combined fourteen figures. The frozen persons of the royal house, lined up in a row in one of the palace chambers of Aranjuez, fill the canvas from edge to edge. Everything is dominated by the prevailing tension and mutual hostility. The portrait shimmers with a magical radiance of colors, it seems to be composed of precious stones. From this regal magnificence, numb figures protrude, but the faces are especially naked and sharply written - insignificant, swollen, self-satisfied. famous work Goya has no analogues in world painting. It destroys the tradition of ceremonial official images. It would be an extreme simplification to see in it a caricature, for here everything is the most cruel truth. Customers, elevated to the pinnacle of power, were not given to understand his revealing power. I liked the portrait and was favorably received. The same thing happened in 1803, when Goya, fearing the Inquisition, decided to bold move and respectfully presented the king with the Caprichos etching boards.
A special place among his works early XIX century is occupied by the image of a young woman, captured twice - dressed and naked. It does not belong strictly to the portrait genre. Here the nationally characteristic type of sensuality that attracted the artist is embodied. female beauty, infinitely far from academic canons. In the irregularity of the delicate pale golden and as if perceptibly alive naked body lies its exciting appeal. Fluid and smooth painting is plastic and flawless. To this day, much remains unclear: the circumstances of the order for two paintings, their exact dating and final title, the question of who this woman is, so boldly, in violation of the Inquisitorial ban, portrayed naked by the artist. Usually double paintings called “Maja dressed” and “Maja naked” (both - c. 1800, Madrid, Prado), however, the very word “maha” - “urban dandy” - in relation to them appeared only in 1831, and in the old inventories it was about Gypsy, Venus. The assumption that Goya was posed by his beloved Duchess Caetana Alba was rejected due to the physical and age dissimilarity of the Duchess with an unknown girl who served as the artist's model. The Inquisition became interested in these paintings, and in 1815 the artist was summoned to the Madrid Tribunal, where he had to identify them and explain for whom and for what purpose they were created. But the record of the interrogation has not been preserved. Both Mahi are among the most famous works Goyas, surrounded by a romantic halo and various speculations.
The country was raging bloody war against those whom Goya and his "Frenchized" friends so recently considered the bearers of the long-awaited freedom. A Spanish patriot, he suffered deeply and resented. IN small picture"Colossus" (1810-1812, Madrid, Prado) there is a spectacle of general chaos generated by unexpected appearance a colossal figure of a naked giant that rises eeriely beyond the outlines of the mountains and touches the clouds. The fantastic image was interpreted in different ways. Probably, the colossus, menacingly clenching its fist and turning its back to the valley, where people and animals scatter in wild confusion, horsemen and carts fall, personifies the merciless forces of war, bringing general ruin, panic and death. The fact that Goya - a witness of the Napoleonic invasion - experienced in occupied Madrid, in the long-suffering Zaragoza, destroyed by the French sieges, which he visited in the autumn of 1808, gave a new powerful impetus to his work, both in painting and in graphics, led to the creation of works of the tragic and heroic sound. The power of drama contained in his work reached its highest intensity.
Forever remain in the memory of the large canvases in the Prado, which make up a historical diptych and depict "The uprising on the Puerta del Sol on May 2, 1808" and "The execution of the rebels on the night of May 3". The composition of the first picture is tied into one elastic knot. Goya watched the fight between Madrid and the French cavalry at Puerta del Sol from his son's house. The second picture is world famous. Above Madrid and the bare hills surrounding it, there is a dull and, as it were, eternal night. Enslaved and trampled Madrid hid under the black sky. From it, like a dark river, a crowd of victims moves along the hills to the place of execution. There was one last moment before the salvo. The ominous yellow light of the lantern pulls out of the darkness a group of rebels pressed against the hillside, at which the thrown guns of the faceless line are pointed French soldiers. The inexorability of impending doom is sharply opposed by the force human feelings. The artist simply, harshly, nakedly and at the same time deeply humanly conveys a sense of doom, fear bordering on insanity, strong-willed composure, sizzling hatred for the enemy.
Goya's inherent ability to respond with all the passion of temperament to the events of our time found the clearest expression in a series of etchings known as "The Disasters of War", given to her by the Academy of San Fernando when published in 1863. The national tragedy is shown here in all its ruthlessness. These are mountains of corpses, executions of partisans, violent fights, excesses of marauders, pangs of hunger, punitive expeditions, disgraced women, orphaned children.
Late creativity Goya coincides with the years of violent reaction after the defeat of two Spanish bourgeois revolutions. In a state of mental confusion and gloomy despair, he settled in a new house, known as "Quinta del Sordo" ("House of the Deaf"). Goya covered the walls of the two-story house with fourteen dark, oil-filled paintings of a fantastic nature. Full of allegories, allusions, associations, they are completely unique in their figurative structure and powerful artistic impact. The "Black Paintings" - as they are usually called - were threatened with complete extinction, for the "Quinta del Sordo" was demolished in 1910. Fortunately, Goya's painting has been transferred to canvas, restored and is now in the Prado.
The murals are dominated by a diabolical, frightening, unnatural beginning, an ominous image appears as in a nightmare. Toothless shrews or elders with bare skulls - a semblance of Death itself - greedily slurp stew, a screaming frenzied crowd of freaks marches to the source of San Isidro, the devil in the form of a huge black Goat in a monastic cassock leads a gathering of vile witches. The set of colors is harsh, stingy, almost monochrome - black, white, reddish-reddish, ocher, the colors seem to have absorbed the shades of the Spanish land burned by the sun, the rust of rocks, the smoldering flames of red earth, the strokes are sweeping and swift. A graphic parallel to Kinta's paintings was the series "Disparates" ("Proverbs", 1820-1823) with even more complex encrypted images.
In 1824, during the years of reaction, Goya was forced to emigrate to France, to the city of Bordeaux, where he died. The inexhaustible thirst for creativity did not leave him until recent years life. Completely deaf, blind, the artist continued to create paintings, portraits, miniatures, lithographs. “... Only will supports me,” he wrote to friends.
In the most later works Goya returns to the image of triumphant youth (The Milkmaid from Bordeaux, 1826, Madrid, Prado).
Goya's life is dedicated literary works, fictionalized biographies and motion pictures. His art had a tremendous impact on the Spanish artistic culture XIX-XX centuries, not only for painting and graphics, but also for literature, drama, theater, cinema. Goya was approached by many masters of world culture, from Delacroix to Picasso, from Edouard Manet to Mexican masters of folk graphics. And today Goya remains unfadingly modern.
Tatyana Kaptereva
