Francisco de Goya

Who is Francisco de Goya?

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish painter and printmaker regarded as the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and a crucial bridge between the Old Masters and modern art. Born in Fuendetodos, Aragon, he rose to become court painter to the Spanish Crown, producing penetrating royal portraits such as 'The Family of Charles IV'. Goya's work grew increasingly bold and critical of the society of his day. His print series 'Los Caprichos' (1799) satirized superstition and folly, while 'The Disasters of War' documented the brutality of the Peninsular War against Napoleon's invading armies. His paintings 'The Second of May 1808' and 'The Third of May 1808' are landmark depictions of war and resistance. In his later years, isolated and deaf, he created the haunting 'Black Paintings' on the walls of his house. He spent his final years in Bordeaux, France, where he died in 1828.

Sources: Francisco de Goya, The Third of May 1808 (1814), Museo del Prado, Madrid · Francisco de Goya, Los Caprichos (1799)