Francisco Goya
ProfileEtcher and aquatint (1746 - 1828)
Francisco de Goya y Lucientes was born in Fuendetodos, Spain in 1746. Beginning his painting career during the Romantic era, Goya came to be known as “the Father of Modern Art.” At the age of fourteen, he was apprenticed to an artist named José Luzán, from whom he learned to draw and copy prints. Goya painted designs for the royal tapestry factory in Madrid from 1775 to 1792, an important period in his artistic development. His many drawings, paintings and engravings reflect the historical upheavals of his time.
From 1810 to 1814, Goya produced a series of etchings called “Los desastres de la Guerra” (The Disasters of War), which depicted the atrocities of the French invasion in Spain. In 1780, Goya was elected to the Royal Academy of San Fernando; in 1786 he was named painter to the Spanish king and in 1789 he was made a court painter.
He suffered a serious illness in 1792 that left him permanently deaf. The isolation of this condition increased the fantasies and inventions in his imagination. His style evolved into something that almost resembled caricature. In 1799 he published a series of etchings titled “Los Caprichos” which satirized human folly and weakness. He also published a series of etchings on bullfighting, called the “Tauromaquia” in 1816.
After 1816, Goya lived in seclusion in a house outside Madrid and in 1824 he went into voluntary exile in France. He lived and worked in Bordeaux until his death in 1828.
From 1810 to 1814, Goya produced a series of etchings called “Los desastres de la Guerra” (The Disasters of War), which depicted the atrocities of the French invasion in Spain. In 1780, Goya was elected to the Royal Academy of San Fernando; in 1786 he was named painter to the Spanish king and in 1789 he was made a court painter.
He suffered a serious illness in 1792 that left him permanently deaf. The isolation of this condition increased the fantasies and inventions in his imagination. His style evolved into something that almost resembled caricature. In 1799 he published a series of etchings titled “Los Caprichos” which satirized human folly and weakness. He also published a series of etchings on bullfighting, called the “Tauromaquia” in 1816.
After 1816, Goya lived in seclusion in a house outside Madrid and in 1824 he went into voluntary exile in France. He lived and worked in Bordeaux until his death in 1828.