Essay: Goya

Born in 1746 in Saragossa, Aragon, Spain, Francisco Goya was one of the most influential Spanish painters of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. His life spanned several artistic and political movements, which are reflected in his work.

He created Los Caprichos, a series of eighty etchings, in 1799 during a period of political and civil unrest that stretched across Europe. Like many European countries, Spain experienced repercussions of the French Revolution and the subsequent rule of Napolean.

In 1789, the same year that King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were removed from Versailles in France, Spain’s King Charles III died, leaving the country in a state of confusion. His successor, King Charles IV ruled with his queen, María Luisa and her lover, Manuel de Godoy. The “unholy trinity” remained in power until Napoleon invaded and the Peninsular Wars began. In the coming years, Spain’s power volleyed between three entities: Charles IV, his son, Ferdinand VII, and Napoleon.

This monumental political unrest was palpable in Spain’s social sector as well. By the end of the eighteenth century, the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment had influenced most of Western Europe, creating a new culture of intellectual liberals. However, embattled governments, which were trying to retain or reinstate monarchies, consistently opposed most liberal factions, leaving citizens outraged and without a political voice.

Los Caprichos was a pivotal work for Goya who, until its creation, had been primarily a portraitist working on commission. However, contemporary political unrest and a serious illness led to a change in the artist’s temperament, which is reflected in Los Caprichos. The series, which has no introduction or explanatory page, contains satirical, dark images that critique society. It signifies a marked departure from other art of the time.

Perhaps the best known etching from Los Caprichos is a self-portrait depicting the artist asleep at a desk surrounded by sinister creatures. The caption reads, “El sueño de la razón produce monstruos” (“The sleep of reason produces monsters”). This plate was supposed to be first in the series, but Goya decided instead to use a less political, more straightforward self-portrait. The implication in this and many other plates in the series is that reason must not be abandoned lest chaos reign.  Los Caprichos may be considered an effort by Goya to bring the Enlightenment to Spain. Some scholars believe that Goya was illustrating themes he found in contemporary liberal literature, though few solid connections between text and image have been made; much of the imagery seems to have come directly from Goya’s imagination.

Although it appears that the Inquisition banned the sale of these prints, Goya had the support of the monarchy. King Charles IV, who favored the artist, purchased the plates himself.

The 80 prints in Los Caprichos, are all etchings. Etching is a form of printmaking where a design is first scratched into, then burned into a copper plate with acid.  Popularized in the fifteenth century as a way to distribute art to the masses, the technique probably evolved from the traditional process of decorating armor in Northern Europe. Creating etched copper plates is an involved process, but once finished are usable for several sets of prints, which can be made with relative ease.


Etchings, and prints in general, are still useful because they allow for the wide dissemination of material at a low cost. As travel was difficult and expensive in the 18th century, prints of famous paintings were often the only way for students of art to see the work of the great masters, and copying prints was one of the most popular methods of artistic training. Goya was probably one of the first Spanish artists to use printmaking to create original works of art, and UMMA is happy to have the complete collection of Los Caprichos.

Sources

Bareau, Juliet Wilson. Goya’s Prints: The Tomás Harris Collection in the British Museum. London: British Museum Publications, Ltd., 1981.

Cohn, M. B. “Etching.” Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. http://www.oxfordonline.com/:80/subscriber/article/grove/art/T026850 (accessed 25 July 2008).

Hofer, Philip. Introduction to Los Caprichoes by Francisco Goya y Lucientes, 1-6. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1969.

Iannone, Lucia P. Goya / Los Caprichos. Published on the occasion of an exhibition from the Collection of Mr. Arthur Ross at the Yale University Art Gallery, September 16 – November 15, 1981. New Haven, CT: Yale University Art Gallery, 1981.

Muller, Priscilla E. “Goya, Francisco de.” Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. http://www.oxfordartonline.com/:80/subscriber/article/grove/art/T033882 (accessed 29 July 2008).

Voost, Geraldine. “Royal Timeline 1517 to Today.” The Unofficial Spanish Royal Family Pages. http://www.etoile.co.uk/Spain/Timeline_2.html (accessed 13 August 2008).

 

Jane Braun 2008

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April 9, 2018 2:36 p.m.

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