Francisco Goya, the great master and spanish artist(English)

José Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, better known as Francisco Goya, was born in 1746 in Spain. Goya is known for being an important painter who started the artistic movement of Romanticism, in addition to being a great precursor of European modernism. The artist is considered one of the last of the so-called old masters of art. Francisco Goya was also a great portraitist who worked at the court of the Spanish king Carlos III.

This translater was made by Google translator.

Goya started to learn art later than other famous artists, at the age of thirteen he entered the Zaragoza Drawing Academy (Zaragoza, in Portuguese), the painter learned artistic techniques from the artist José Luzán, a Spanish Baroque painter.

The artist tried to get a scholarship to go to Italy to learn art, but without success Goya had to go to Rome, Venice and Bologna on his own. In Italy, the artist studied works by painters like Rafael, Goya recorded his notes in a notebook that is kept on display today at the Prado Museum.

In Parma in Italy, Francisco Goya submitted the painting called Hannibal, the winner, contemplates Italy for the first time in the Alps, for a historic art contest, unfortunately the artist did not win the contest but had some votes from the judges.

*Hannibal, o vencedor, contempla a Itália pela primeira vez dos Alpes, Francisco Goya.*

This work shows that Goya was managing to get rid of Luzán and began to create his own style, the artist shows more boldness in the colors and compositions of this painting.

Goya returns to Zaragoza where he receives an order from the Basilica of Nuestra Señora del Pilar to paint a fresco called The Adoration of the Name of God.

*Adoração ao nome de Deus, Francisco Goya.*

The artist went to the city of Madrid where he became the director of the royal tapestry factory, Goya designed several patterns for the manufacture of these rugs that were used to decorate the royal rooms. Goya was also a great master in prints and made many prints in this period in Madrid.

Francisco de Goya was hired to make a painting on the altar of the Real Basilica of San Francisco el Grande in Madrid, and thanks to this work, Goya was invited to be part of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.

The Count of Floridabanca hired Francisco Goya to make a portrait of himself. The count was one of the favorites of King Carlos II, and it was due to this commission made to the artist that the monarch learned of Francisco Goya’s talent.

The work O Parasol was part of a series of orders made to Goya to decorate the dining room of the Prince of Asturias, the future Carlos IV, and was painted by the artist in 1777. In this work, the painter moves away from the Baroque and approaches neoclassicism, in addition to having a harmony of colors.

Goya received more orders for works by the couple of princes to decorate other royal rooms. The artist also made portraits of the family of the future King Charles IV. In the year 1786, Francisco Goya became the official painter of King Charles III, receiving a high annual salary. Many think that the painting of the family of Carlos IV, with the future queen Maria Luísa de Parma in the center of the painting, as a way to symbolize where the power really was in this family.

Francisco Goya is also well known for a controversial painting called La Maja desnuda, which depicts a woman without clothes outside the mythological context. This work was commissioned by Manuel Godoy, known for his diplomatic tact with Napoleon Bonaparte.

This work was never exhibited in public during the artist’s life, remaining in the possession of Godoy. This painting was confiscated by the Spanish Inquisition. Goya painted another version of this painting, La Maja clothed.

These two paintings are displayed side by side at the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain.

Francisco Goya was very affected by the war that broke out between Spain and France. The artist remained at court, even after Napoleon replaced the Spanish king with his brother, José Bonaparte, Goya remained neutral in this conflict. After the restoration of the throne to King Fernando VII, the artist was accused of being involved with the French, even though he denied it, the king was never close to the painter and although Goya continued to portray the court, he never made a painting of the Spanish king.

The painter made a picture depicting the Spanish revolt against the French occupation, this work is called Dois de Maio, 1808, and shows an episode of this conflict between the Spanish and the French.