The most important works of Goya

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes was one of the most important Spanish artists in the history of art, since he is considered the forerunner of what will be the artistic avant-gardes 20th century. He stood out mainly for the paintings made to the monarchs Carlos IV and Fernando VII for whom he was his chamber painter and also for his scenes of daily life, the War of Independence and for his series of engravings such as Bullfighting, Los Caprichos, and Los Desastres de la War. Next, in this lesson from a PROFESSOR we are going to show you a compendium about the most important works of Goya that the painter made throughout his life.

Index

1. Portraits of the Duchess of Alba
2. The family of Carlos IV
3. Los Caprichos series
4. Works related to the War of Independence
5. Black paints

In the summer of 1796 Francisco de Goya was in Andalusia with the king's permission, being in the cities of Seville, Cádiz and Sanlúcar de Barrameda, in the Doñana Palace of which the Duchess was the owner of Alba.

From this moment on it is known that both had a relationship, although we do not know what kind, the truth is that he painted a series of paintings for her, such as the one of the Duchess of Alba with mantilla, the Duchess of Alba and the Blessed and hers, her famous majas, the Maja naked and the Maja dressed of which it has always been speculated that the Duchess of Alba was the one portrayed.

However, more methodical studies tell us that they are about Pepita Tudo, Manuel Godoy's wife, who commissioned him to carry out both paintings. Both one and the other are currently in the Prado Museum in Madrid.

Image: Candice Hern

Another of the most important works of Goya It is the one that made the royal family. In 1799 Goya was proclaimed a chamber painter to King Carlos IV, for whom he will make a series of portraits highlighting those on equestrian and hunting themes; He also made another of the best known paintings of him as the Portrait of the Family of Charles IV (1800) which has been considered the best of the portraits made at this time.

It shows each and every one of the family members treated with great simplicity and without any idealization.

If we look closely, we could divide the portrait as a whole into three different groups:

• In the center the monarchs with their corresponding children, true protagonists of the composition
• On the left the group of the Princes of Parma using a range of warmer colors
• And on the right the crown prince group in a colder palette.

As a matter of interest, say that this was Goya's first work to enter the Prado Museum.

Image: Sdelbiombo - Blogia

Another of Goya's fundamental works will be Los Caprichos, a set of 80 engravings made on copper (intaglio). They are about really satirical works towards the church and society of his time.

Among them we have to highlight “Of what evil will he die?, “Volavérunt “ The dream of the reason produces monsters" Y " You can't”.

In the latter the meaning alludes to the social group known in the Old Regime as the Plain State which was subject to bear all burdens. prosecutors related to the payment of taxes from which both the nobility and the clergy were exempt, so with this engraving he hints at the unfair distribution, in which donkeys are the most powerful classes carried by the men who represent the most humble classes supporting all the loads.

Among Goya's most important works we cannot ignore those that referred to the war of independence. Francisco de Goya is also going to capture his vision of said conflict, since the damage caused by it left a deep mark on him since he personally lived this period in the history of Spain.

Two are the most important allusive paintings related to the war: the May 2, 1808 in Madrid: the fight with the Mamluks and the May 3, 1808 in Madrid: the executions on the mountain of Príncipe Pío.

Both are reflecting the drama and horror of the brutal and violent massacres that were carried out in the Madrid city by groups of French soldiers, as well as the Mamluks (Egyptians). Regarding the canvas of the executions, we see how the main protagonist is the people.

As in other works referred to above, eThe way of composing the scene will be by groups, In this case, we find the group of those executed who show their faces to the viewer, for this Goya uses a whole gallery of portraits on how each person is different. individual faces death, however, all eyes are focused on the man in a white shirt who with his arms crossed is sure to offer himself to the shots.

Another group is that of the sentenced who wait their turn to be shot and that of the French soldiers with their backs to the viewer, hiding his faces to downplay it, after all, they were just anonymous executioners executing for orders. The two are also on display in the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid.

And we end this review of the most important works of Goya talking about these that were so famous.

Already in his last years, Francisco de Goya retires to a farm that received the name of the “Quinta de Sordo”Near the Manzanares river and in this house he is going to do his famous black paints where it must be said that they are not called that way because of their color but rather because of their content.

In addition, it has the particularity that they are not frescoes, but oil paintings painted directly on the plaster of the wall. They are about a total of 16 paintings those that were decorating the different rooms of his home and in them he reflected his own inner reality (soul), thus demonstrating that his temperament was much darker.

Among them are the Pilgrimage of San Isidro, the Coven, the half sunken dog, where you can only see the head of a dog that is surprised, afraid of something he is seeing, but He does not want to see it, he comes to represent the incapacity of man when facing what will be his final destiny, his death.

Finally, also mention another of the black paintings of him as it is Saturn devouring his son, a magnificent representation of how time destroys and devours everything, one of the painter's obsessions.

Image: Arteazuer - blogger

If you want to read more articles similar to The most important works of Goya, we recommend that you enter our category of Story.