Francisco José de Goya

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (March 30, 1746– April 16, 1828) was born in Fuendetodos, Spain, in the kingdom of Aragon. Three years later his family bought a house in Zaragoza and moved there. Goya dreamt to become an artist since his childhood. Being a little boy he ornamented walls of a sheep-fold with a charcoal.
In 1760 his dream began coming true. He became a pupil of H.Lusana y Martinez in Zaragoza. For the model of respectability Goya took the famous Spanish artist, Rodriguez de Silva Velasquez.
In 1769 Goya went to Italy, where he won a prize in a painting competition organized by the City of Parma. Rome was a place where the artist comprehended antique art. In 1771 the artist came back to Zaragoza and took up painting pictures in the style of Italian baroque. His painting began to show signs of the delicate tonalities for which he became famous. Over the course of five years, he had decorated and illustrated the bare stone walls of El Escorial and the Palacio Real de El Pardo, the newly built residences of the Spanish monarchs. In 1780, Goya was elected a member of the Royal Academy of San Fernando. In 1780-81, he worked on the frescoes of El Pilar in Saragossa. On his return to Madrid he received the royal invitation to paint one of seven large altarpieces for the newly built church of San Francisco el Grande. The King’s opinion of his work must have been favorable, because in 1785, the paintings were first shown to the public, Goya was appointed Deputy Director of Painting in the Academy. In 1786, he became a court painter.

The Parasol (1777)
Size: 104 x 152 cm

On the foreground Goya has depicted two young people. They are in love with each other and are spending time together in fresh air. The young man is holding a parasol above the girl’s head. He wants her to feel comfort in the hot Spanish sun. We may notice that the man’s position somehow resembles the young woman’s one. He tries to pose in such a way not to restrict her movements. The couple is wearing national Spanish clothes. On the foreground there is the nature looking at which I may say that it’s probably the summer. The colours are warm and deep. They are maroon, fawn, buff, royal blue, olive green and others.

Autumn, or The Grape Harvest (1786)
Size: 190 x 275 cm

The main figures of the picture are 4 people who have gathered the grape harvest. In the middle there is a young girl who is keeping the basket of grapes in her hands. On the right side there is a young man looking at her with admiration. Other people surrounding the girl want to taste the ripe grapes. On the background we may see a peaceful nature and people gathering the harvest. The subjects in the middle of the picture are wearing smart clothes as if the harvest is a kind of a holiday. I think the artist wanted to show that he enjoyed the ordinary everyday life. The colours are bright and contrast. There are mainly all hues of blue and green which show purity of nature.


1792-1793 are the years of Goya’s illness which caused the artist’s deafness. During this time the personality interests the artist most of all. That’s why he does the portraits of ordinary people.

The portrait of Sebastian Martinez (1792)

Sebastian Martinez was Goya’s close friend. He’s portrayed almost at full-length. His face has got spiritual and expressive features and sharp eyes. The subject seems to be intelligent and concentrating on something. He’s holding a kind of document in his hands. Maybe its content makes the man portrayed think about some important things. He’s wearing European clothes. There is nothing on the back of Martinez, just a black background. The colours are quite calm. There artist doesn’t use bright paints to draw the viewers’ attention to the personality itself but not to its appearance.

As an artist of romanticism, Francisco Goya was determined to depict peoples’ personality, their inner worlds. He mainly pictures creative, sensitive and strong people who firs of all listen to their hearts. I’ve got such an impression that the aim of this artist was to teach the viewers to enjoy their ordinary lives, to get much pleasure looking at the nature and other things that surround them.