FROM EVERYDAY TO EXTRAORDINARY– Francisco de Goya: atrocities of war, between portraits and nudes

FRANCISCO GOYA 1/3 – The experience helped him become a keen observer of human behavior. The father of Spanish modern art. Francisco de Goya, painted royal portraits as well as more subversive works in late 1700s and early 1800s. He was born on March day, in Spain. He began his art studies as a teenager (even spent time in Rome). In 1770s, he began to work for Spanish royal court, but in addition to his, he paint portraits of the nobility, creating works that criticized his era.

  FRANCISCO GOYA 2/3 – He spent some of his youth in Saragossa. At first, he learned by imitation. He copied the works of great masters, in this way finding inspiration. Goya also used his art record moments of the country’s history. In 1779, Goya won an appointment as a painter to the royal court. In 1792, he became deaf, starting to work on non-commissioned paintings (including portraits of women from all walks of life).

FRANCICO GOYA 3/3 – In 1795, he was named the director of the Royal Academy. Upon the restoration of the Spanish monarchy, he was pardoned for serving the French. He was called before the Inquisition, to explain his earlier portrait of The Naked Maja (one of the few nudes in Spanish art at that time). In 1824 (after the failure of an attempt to restore liberal government), he went into voluntary exile in France. He settled in Bordeaux, continuing to work until his death there on April day of 1828.

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