Francisco Goya

Born in Zaragoza, Francisco Goya lived for a long time in Madrid, but spent the last days of his life in exile in Bordeaux. In the service of the king, he was a fabulous portrait artist gifted for revealing the psychological make-up of the numerous political figures he painted. Precursor of modern art, his palette ranges from joyful, pleasant and colorful paintings depicting the lives of the Spanish people, to sinister canvases of a strange and anguished nature entitled the "black paintings", belonging his last period. There was a break between these contrasted styles: in 1793, Goya became deaf, and his bitter and desperate spirit is reflected in his work thereafter. Goya now finds his true style, which is freer, far more vague and sketchy, as he continually distanced himself from beautiful forms that were incapable of transcribing his visions of horror. Francisco Goya painted scenes of bullfights all his life and his many self-portraits faithfully retrace the development of his art. The landscapes and faces of Spain today can be seen in Goya's paintings and portraits. (Verleiher-Text)