Francisco de Goya - part 10

Francisco de Goya was a Spanish artist widely considered one of the most important painters of the Romantic period. The artist took on a wide array of subject matter, including self-portraiture, fantasy scenes, landscapes, and still lifes. “Painting, like poetry, selects in the universe whatever she deems most appropriate to her ends,” he once explained. Born Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes in the town of Fuendetodos, Spain on March 30, 1746, he began studying art under the painter Jose Luzán at the age of 14. During the 1770s, Goya produced works such as The Parasol (1777), which meld the unlikely pairing of cheery Rococo aesthetics with the moody works of Diego Velázquez. 

The artist became the court painter of Charles III of Spain in 1786, and continued painting for the Spanish court until Napoleons invasion of Spain in 1808. During the Napoleonic wars, Goya’s palette significantly darkened as he produced some of his most famous works. Among these paintings are the The Second of May 1808 (1814) and The Third of May 1808 (1814), which show the terrors of war. Three years before he left his native country, Goya produced 14 paintings directly onto the plaster walls of his farmhouse. These works, collectively known as The Black Paintings (1821), depicted terrifying supernatural themes and heinous violence. 

Living in exile in Bordeaux, France, the artist died on April 16, 1828. His works went on to have a profound influence on both Édouard Manet and Pablo Picasso. Today, Goya’s works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Prado Museum in Madrid, and the Louvre Museum in Paris, among others.

This is part 10 of a 10-part series on the works of Francisco de Goya.

1819-23 Black Paintings, Museo del Prado, Madrid

The Black Paintings is the name given to a group of paintings by Goya from the later years of his life, likely between 1819 and 1823. They portray intense, haunting themes, reflective of both his fear of insanity and his bleak outlook on humanity. In 1819, at the age of 72, Goya moved into a two-story house outside Madrid that was called Quinta del Sordo (Deaf Man's Villa). Although the house had been named after the previous owner, who was deaf, Goya too was nearly deaf at the time as a result of an unknown illness he had suffered when he was 46. The paintings originally were painted as murals on the walls of the house, later being "hacked off" the walls and attached to canvas by owner Baron Frédéric Émile d’Erlanger. They are all now in the Museo de Prado in Madrid.

1819-23 Atropos or The Fates
oil mural painting transferred to canvas 123 x 266 cm

Atropos or The Fates detail

1819-23 Fight with Cudgels
oil on canvas 125 x 261 cm

Fight with Cudgels detail

1819-23 Judith and Holofernes
oil mural transferred to canvas 143.5 x 81.4 cm

1819-23 Man Mocked by Two Women
oil on canvas 125 x 66 cm

1819-23 Pilgrimage to the Fountain of San Isidro
oil mural painting transferred to canvas 127 x 266 cm

Pilgrimage to the Fountain of San Isidro detail

1819-23 The drowning dog
oil mural painting transferred to canvas 131.5 x 79.3 cm

1819-23 Two old men
oil mural painting transferred to canvas 146 x 66 cm

1819-23 Two old ones eating soup
oil mural painting transferred to canvas 49.3 x 83.4 cm

1820-23 A Manola: Leocadia Zorilla
oil on mural transferred to canvas 145.7 x 129.4 cm

1820-23 Asmodea
mixed method on mural transferred to canvas 127 x 263 cm

Asmodea detail

c1820-23 Saturn devouring his Son
mixed media mural transferred to canvas 143.5 x 81.4 cm

1820-23 Two old men reading
oil on gesso transferred to linen 125.3 x 65.2 cm

c1819-23 What madness to still think about marriage
brush, Indian ink, preliminary tracing in black chalk, on white laid paper 23.4 x 14.4 cm
Louvre, Paris

c1819-23 He Can No Longer at the Age of Ninety-Eight
brush and India ink 23.3 x 14.4 cm
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

c1819-23  Bad woman
brush, gray and black Indian ink wash, black chalk strokes, on white paper 21.5 x 14.4 cm
Louvre, Paris

1820 Tiburcio Pérez y Cuervo

Pérez’s loosely rolled up sleeves—a painterly tour de force—and relaxed expression combine with Goya’s nearly monochrome palette to create an exceptionally direct and informal portrait of the artist’s close friend, the architect Tiburcio Pérez. The year before, Goya had painted Pérez’s uncle, also an architect, in a far more regal and conventional portrait, which is today in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Pérez was responsible for the design of several institutional buildings in Madrid, including a medical school on the Calle de Atocha.

1820 Tiburcio Pérez y Cuervo (1785/86–1841), the Architect
oil on canvas 102.2 x 81.3 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

1820-23 Witches' Sabbath, or the Great He-Goat
oil on mural transferred to canvas 140.5 x 435.7 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid

Witches' Sabbath, or the Great He-Goat detail

Witches' Sabbath, or the Great He-Goat detail

1823 Portrait of Don Ramón Satué y Allué (1765-1824)
oil on canvas 107 x 83.5 cm
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

1824 Bullfight, Suerte de Varas
oil on canvas 49.8 x 70.8 cm
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles 

1824 Portrait of a Lady (María Martínez de Puga?)
oil on canvas 80 x 58.4 cm
The Frick Collection, New York

1824 Portrait of the Canon D. José Duaso y Latre
oil on canvas 74.5 x 59 cm
Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla, Spain

1824-25 Bull Attacked by Dogsl
lithograph on ivory wove paper 18.8 x 31.5 cm

c1824-28 Fire! Fire!
black chalk, lithographic pencil, on white-grey laid paper
18.8 x 15.1 cm
Louvre, Paris

1825 The Bulls of Bordeaux (4 images):

1825 Bullfight in a divided ring
lithographic crayon and scraper on light tan wove paper
30.4 x 41.3 cm (image)

1825 Picador caught by a Bull
lithographic crayon and scraper in black on buff wove paper
31.3 x 51.3 cm (image)

1825 Spanish Entertainment
lithographic crayon and scraper on light tan wove paper
30.1 x 40.6 cm (image)

1825 The Famous American, Mariano Ceballos
lithographic crayon and scraper on ivory wove paper
 31.1 x 40.5 cm (image)

1825-26 Modern Duel
lithographic crayon and scraper on ivory laid paper
 19 x 19.5 cm (image)

1825-26 The Andalusian Dance
lithographic crayon on ivory laid paper 24.5 x 29 cm

1825-27 Old man on a swing
etching and burnished aquatint and/or lavis on ivory paper
18.8 x 12.2 cm (plate)

c1825-28 They are Dying
black chalk, lithographic crayon, stumping, on white laid paper 18.9 x 14.4 cm
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

1827 Juan Bautista de Muguiro
oil on canvas 103 x 85 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid

c1827 The Milkmaid of Bordeaux
oil on canvas 74 x 68 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid

c1894? An Officer
oil on canvas 63.2 x 48.9 cm
The Frick Collection New York City

c1915-20 The Forge
oil on canvas 181.6 x 125.1 cm

n.d. Christ in the Garden of Olives
(School og Goya)
oil on wood panel 47 x 35 cm
Louvre, Paris

n.d. Couple in a landscape
brush, sepia wash, preliminary red chalk lines, traces of black chalk, touches of grey wash, on white laid paper 20.3 x 14.2 cm
Louvre, Paris

n.d. Her devotion consoles her
(attributed to Goya)
scraper, brush, Indian ink wash, traces of black chalk, on white laid paper 25.5 x 18 cm
Louvre, Paris

n.d. Portrait of the Countess of Chincón
oil on canvas 82 x 61.7 cm
Uffizi Gallery, Florence

n.d. Scene at a Bullfight
oil on canvas 45 x 57 cm
© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, UK

n.d. Scene at a Bullfight
oil on canvas 46 x 58 cm
© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, UK

n.d. The Widow
brush, sepia ink wash, Indian ink wash, on white laid paper
20.3 x 14.2 cm
Louvre, Paris

n.d.The same thing
brush, Indian ink wash, black chalk strokes on white laid paper 26.2 x 18.4 cm
 Louvre, Paris

Francisco de Goya - part 9

Francisco de Goya was a Spanish artist widely considered one of the most important painters of the Romantic period. The artist took on a wide array of subject matter, including self-portraiture, fantasy scenes, landscapes, and still lifes. “Painting, like poetry, selects in the universe whatever she deems most appropriate to her ends,” he once explained. Born Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes in the town of Fuendetodos, Spain on March 30, 1746, he began studying art under the painter Jose Luzán at the age of 14. During the 1770s, Goya produced works such as The Parasol (1777), which meld the unlikely pairing of cheery Rococo aesthetics with the moody works of Diego Velázquez. 

The artist became the court painter of Charles III of Spain in 1786, and continued painting for the Spanish court until Napoleons invasion of Spain in 1808. During the Napoleonic wars, Goya’s palette significantly darkened as he produced some of his most famous works. Among these paintings are the The Second of May 1808 (1814) and The Third of May 1808 (1814), which show the terrors of war. Three years before he left his native country, Goya produced 14 paintings directly onto the plaster walls of his farmhouse. These works, collectively known as The Black Paintings (1821), depicted terrifying supernatural themes and heinous violence. 

Living in exile in Bordeaux, France, the artist died on April 16, 1828. His works went on to have a profound influence on both Édouard Manet and Pablo Picasso. Today, Goya’s works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Prado Museum in Madrid, and the Louvre Museum in Paris, among others.

This is part 9 of a 10-part series on the works of Francisco de Goya.

The Art of Bullfighting continued from part 8:

Plate 19. Another madness of his in the same ring
etching, burnished aquatint, drypoint and burin on ivory laid paper 24.5 x 35.3 cm (plate)

Plate 20. The Agility and Audacity of Juanito Apinani in the ring at Madrid
etching and aquatint on ivory laid paper 24.6 x 35.5 cm (plate)

Plate 21. Dreadful events in the front rows of the ring at Madrid, and death of the mayor of Torrejón
 etching, burnished aquatint, lavis, drypoint and burin on ivory laid paper 24.7 x 35.5 cm (plate)

Plate 22. Manly courage of the celebrated Pajuelera in the ring at Saragossa
etching, burnished aquatint, drypoint and burin on ivory laid paper 25.2 x 35.3 cm (plate)

Plate 23. Mariano Ceballos, alias the Indian, kills the bull from his horse
etching and burnished aquatint on ivory laid paper
 25 x 35.2 cm (plate)

Plate 24. The Same Ceballos, Mounted on Another Bull, Breaks Short Spears in the Ring at Madrid
 etching, burnished aquatint, drypoint and burin on ivory laid paper 24.5 x 35.5 cm (plate)

Plate 26. A Picador is Unhorsed and Falls under the Bull
etching, burnished aquatint and drypoint on ivory laid paper 24.5 x 35.3 cm (plate)

Plate 27 The Celebrated Picador, Fernando del Toro, Draws the Fierce Beast on with His Pique
etching, burnished aquatint, drypoint and burin on ivory laid paper 24.5 x 35.2 cm (plate)

Plate 28. The Forceful Rendón Stabs a Bull with the Pique, from which Pass He Died in the Ring at Madrid
etching, burnished aquatint and burin on ivory laid paper
25 x 35.2 cm (plate)

Plate 29. Pepe Illo making the pass of the ‘recorte’
etching, burnished aquatint, drypoint and burin on ivory laid paper 24.4 x 35.2 cm (plate)

Plate 30. Pedro Romero killing the halted bull
etching, aquatint, drypoint and burin on ivory laid paper
24.8 x 35.5 cm (plate)

Plate 31. Banderillas with firecrackers
etching, burnished aquatint, lavis, drypoint and burin on ivory laid paper 24.5 x 35.3 cm (plate)

Plate 32. Two teams of Picadors thrown one after the other by a single bull
etching, burnished aquatint, drypoint and burin on ivory laid paper 24.4 x 35.2 cm (plate)

Plate 33. The Unlucky Death of Pepe Illo in the Ring at Madrid
 etching, burnished aquatint, drypoint and burin on ivory laid paper 24.7 x 35.5 cm (plate)

1815-24 Los Proverbios (The Proverbs)

Four decades after the artist’s death, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts acquired 18 intaglio plates from an unfinished series by Goya. In an attempt to ascribe a theme to their enigmatic imagery, the prints were published with the title Los Proverbios (Proverbs). A handful of early trial proofs were later discovered on which the artist had inscribed Disparate, which roughly translates as folly, nonsense, absurdity, or fantasy.

Plate 1. Heavier than a Dead Donkey
etching and aquatint, with scratches, in brown on ivory wove paper 24.5 x 35.5 cm (plate)

Plate 2. Folly of Fear
etching and aquatint 24.5 x 35 cm

Plate 3. To Go Amongst the Branches
i.e. to talk through one’s hat
 etching, aquatint, and drypoint on ivory wove paper
 24.4 x 35.2 cm (plate)

Plate 4. Dancing Giant
etching, burnished aquatint, drypoint 26.6 x 37 cm

Plate 5. Renounce the Friend Who Covers You with His Wings and Bites You with His Beak
etching and aquatint on ivory wove paper 24.5 x 35.3 cm (plate)

Plate 6. It is Amazing - and We were Made by God
etching and burnished aquatint on ivory wove paper
 24.5 x 35.4 cm (plate)

Plate 7. Matrimonial Folly
 etching and aquatint
(size not found)

Plate 8. There is Something Beneath the Sackcloth,
i.e. you can’t judge a man by his clothes
etching and burnished aquatint on ivory wove paper
 24.5 x 35.2 cm (plate)

Plate 9. General Folly
etching and burnished aquatint printed in sepia ink on ivory wove paper 24.5 x 35.5 cm (plate)

Plate 10. A Woman and a Horse, Let Someone Else Master Them
etching with aquatint and drypoint in black on ivory wove paper 24.4 x 35 cm

Plate 11. Poor Folly
etching, burnished aquatint, drypoint and burin on ivory wove paper 24.5 x 35 cm (plate)

Plate 12. Merry Folly
etching, burnished aquatint, and drypoint in brown-black
24.4 x 35.3 cm

Plate 13. A Way of Flying
etching and aquatint in brown-black on ivory wove paper
24.5 x 35.4 cm (plate)

Plate 14. Rejoice, Carnival, for Tomorrow Thou wilt Be Ashes
etching and aquatint printed in sepia ink on ivory wove paper
24.5 x 35.8 cm (plate)

Plate 15. Without commending himself either to God or the devil
etching, burnished aquatint and lavis printed in sepia ink on ivory wove paper 24.6 x 35.5 cm (plate)

Plate 16. Wounds Heal Quicker than Hasty Words
etching and burnished aquatint on ivory wove paper
 24.4 x 35.3 cm (plate)

Plate 17. He who does not like thee will defame thee in jest
etching and burnished aquatint on ivory wove paper
 24.5 x 35.2 cm (plate)

Plate 18. God creates them and they join up together
etching, burnished aquatint and burin on ivory wove paper
24.3 x 35.4 cm (plate)

Four works that were added to the series later:

Bull Nonsense
24.3 x 35.5 cm (plate)

Beast Nonsense
23.6 x 35.5 (plate)

Known Nonsense
24.2 x 35.6 cm (plate)

Punctual Nonsense
24.6 x 35.6 cm (plate)

1815-28 Las Disparates' Pascal Torres,"Four Disparates":

Beast nonsense
engraved copper plate 24 x 35 cm
Louvre, Paris

Dancing Giant
etching and burnished aquatint in brown-black on ivory wove paper 24.2 x 35.2 cm (plate)

Disparate consciousness
engraved copper plate 24 x 35 cm
Louvre, Paris

Disparate point
engraved copper plate 24 x 35 cm
Louvre, Paris

Merry Folly
etching, burnished aquatint, and drypoint in brown-black on ivory wove paper 24.4 x 35.3 cm (plate)

Rain of bulls
engraved copper plate 24 x 35 cm 
Louvre, Paris

Soldiers Frightened by a Phantom
etching and burnished aquatint in brown-black on ivory wove paper 24.5 x 35.2 cm (plate)