Biography

      BIOGRAFÍA

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes was born on March 30, 1746, in Fuentedetodos (Zaragoza). The family moved to the capital later, where Goya's father worked as a gilder. At about 14 Goya was apprentice to a local painter. Later he went to Italy to continue his study of art. On returning to Zaragoza in 1771, he painted frescoes for the local cathedral. These works, done in the decorative rococo tradition, established Goya's artistic reputation. In 1773 he married Josefa Bayeu, sister of the artist Francisco Bayeu. The later Goya's paintings anticipated forms of painting that would be used centuries later by impressionists, expressionists and surrealists

The evolution of his art:

In the early years (1774-1792) he painted patterns that served as models for the weaving of tapestries in the Real Fábrica de Tapices. These tapestries decorated walls of the palaces, El Escorial and El Pardo. Goya used brilliant colours to representate the activities of the different social classes (clergy, nobility and third state ) . These are genre paintings , as : La Gallina Ciega , El Pelele , La Vendimia...

                   La cometa

In 1785 he became the royal painter of Charles III and for Charles IV. In this period he painted portraits of the royal family and of other members of the nobility, such as La Duquesa de Alba. He also painted portraits of Enlightened politicians like Jovellanos . These works were characterized by their masterful technique, use of light and their emotional depth.sa 

During the War of Independence (1808 - 1813) he depicted the horrors of the war in two famous paintings: La Carga de los Mamelucos y los grabados de los Desastres de la Guerra .

After the war, during the reign of Ferdinard VII, Goya suffered illness and deafness and he took in his house where he decorated the walls with his black painting . He painted nightmarish themes like Saturno devorando a sus hijos and El Aquelarre in black and grey colors.