1. Goya in His Studio
1790-5, oil on canvas, 16-1/2” x 11”, Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid, Spain
Goya painted this self-portrait at a time when he was the most sought-after portrait painter among the
aristocracy in Madrid. He painted himself at his easel, wearing an unusual hat, with metal
candlesticks fastened around the crown. His son, Xavier, later explained how his father would light
the candles on the hat so that he could paint by candlelight: “He painted only in one session,
sometimes of ten hours, but never in the late afternoon. The last touches for the better effect of a
picture he gave at night, by artificial light.” Goya evidently preferred the better effects of painting in
the details when they were applied by the muted, artificial light from the candles.
In this work, Goya gave his own shape a special emphasis through placement in the composition and
by creating silhouetting contrasts of values. First, he placed himself, full-length, in the center of the
canvas, with his figure covering most of the height of the painting. Second, he placed his darker
figure silhouetted in front of a brightly-lit window.
The sharp value changes between the bright light of the window and his darker shape created
contour edges that outlined and defined his shape. The darker values of his clothing and hat were all
the more visible and emphasized because they contrasted with the brighter values of the background.
How does Goya emphasize himself in this composition? Goya emphasized himself by placing his fulllength figure in the center of the canvas to cover most of the height of the painting. Second, he placed
himself dressed in darker values of clothing that silhouetted his figure in front of the brighter values of
window behind him.
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2. The Parasol
1777, oil on canvas, 39” x 59-1/8”, Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain
In this painting, a cartoon for one of his tapestry designs, Goya painted a genre scene that
illustrated a moment from everyday life in Madrid. The tapestry created from this painting was
intended for a wall above a door, which is why Goya painted his female subject in a position from
which she could look down on the observer. Her companion uses the parasol to protect her delicate
skin from the sun, and in her hand, she holds a fan, which was not just an indispensable tool for
creating a cool current of air on a warm day, but also a communications tool used by most of the
Spanish women. Each opening and closing of the fan had its significance, forming a language that
was recognized by every level of society. A fan’s movements could give a secret sign of
encouragement to some hopeful suitor or could quickly indicate the woman’s lack of interest.
Goya created visual interest and an emphasis on his two subjects by placing them, in their vivid
colors of clothing, against a more subdued background of contrasting values. The young woman
stands out especially because her bright clothing contrasts vividly against the darker value of the
wall behind her, as does her fan, the tool with which she could flirtatiously communicate. The young
man is emphasized because the shape of his arm and lower body both appear much darker in the
shadow that has been cast upon him by the parasol and because he stands before the much lighter
values of the cloudy background.
Value contrasts in the background also create visual lines that bring the viewer’s eye back to the
young couple. If one looks at the upper left hand corner of the painting, the value contrasts between
the dark wall and the clouds in the distance create a line that leads the eye directly back to the face
of the woman. If the eye wanders out to the upper right hand corner of the painting, the value
contrast between the dark tree branches and the blue sky create a line that lead the eye back again
to the couple at the center of the painting.
Where do you see areas of light and dark contrast? The two figures contrast vividly against their
respective backgrounds: she is bright against darker values; he is more shadowed against the
lighter values of the bright sky.
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3. Don Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuñiga
1788, oil on canvas, 50” x 40”, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Goya always had a special affinity for children (his own wife gave birth many times, but
unfortunately, only their last-born, Xavier, survived). While his reputation as a portraitist grew, his
wealthy patrons would often commission portraits, not only of themselves, but also of their heirs.
This portrait of the four-year-old heir, Manuel Osorio, is one of Goya’s most famous works.
Emphasis has been created by positioning the boy, full-length, in the center of the canvas. The
background provides an indistinct, negative shape that surrounds the positive and dominant
shape of the boy and his pets. He is obviously the most important focal point of the painting and
the value contrasts of his vivid red suit, dark hair and eyes, and pale skin against the values of the
neutral background make him stand out. The brighter area of background directly behind the boy’s
head contrasts with the darker value of his dark hair to further emphasize his head and delicate
features. The pet finch is emphasized by the sharp contrasts of its black and white feathers as
well as by its placement in the foreground. And, even though they have all been placed in the
darker background of the lower left corner of the painting, the highlights on the fur and eyes of the
three hungry cats together create just enough emphasis to attract our attention! [Note: Goya’s
signature can be found on the card that is held in the pet bird’s beak.]
Why did Goya use bright red for the boy’s clothing? The vivid read of his clothing creates a bright
contrast that emphasizes his figure against the neutral values of the background.
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7. The Family of Charles IV
1800, oil on canvas, 110-1/4” x 132-1/4”, Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain
This painting was one of Goya’s first commissions as an official Court Painter. It shows the influence of
Velasquez‘s famous “Las Meniñas,” a painting in the royal collection that portrayed another royal family group
from nearly 100 years before Goya’s birth. Goya was familiar with Velazquez because he had created etched
copies of 20 of his paintings some years earlier and, like Velazquez, Goya painted himself into the group,
standing behind his easel to the left. Queen Maria Luisa stands in the center with her youngest children. To her
left stands the King; to her right stands Crown Prince Ferdinand. All twelve members of the royal family posed for
this painting at various times over the course of a year, but because Prince Ferdinand had yet to marry, Goya
painted a thirteenth figure that stands next to the Prince. This figure represented a future bride, with her face
turned away from the viewer as if by chance. [When the Prince finally married, Goya refused to paint the bride’s
features into the picture because he hated retouching.]
At a time when most court painters would have attempted to flatter the subjects of their paintings, Goya was
shockingly honest. The entire family was painted just as Goya saw them: the Queen looks ugly, her unattractive
features unimproved by her ornate dress and rich jewels; the King looks fat and dull, his bright medals and
ribbons on his chest offer the only clues to his status. Although they did not seem to object to the honesty of their
portraits, this was the last time Goya was known to paint any member of the royal family (with the exception of
Prince Ferdinand, whose portrait he later painted in 1814 as Spain’s King Ferdinand VII).
The placement of Queen Maria Luisa in the center of the painting emphasized her power in the family. The dark
values of the indistinct painting on the wall behind her contrast with the light values of her face and dress, making
her shape the focal point of this work. The Queen’s gaze directs us to look at the King to her left and we notice
the sparkling medals on his chest that contrast with the dark values of his suit coat. The King is emphasized
because of the value contrast of his dark clothing next to the more brightly dressed individuals to his left. The
King’s gaze leads our eyes to the Crown Prince on the left side of the portrait, also dressed in colors with darker
values as he stands in partial shadow. Only the light values of his face and white collar have enough contrast with
the dark values surrounding him to give his portrait any emphasis at all. The dark values of the background create
a solid negative shape that serves to outline and emphasize the positive shapes of the royal family group.
How do you know which figures Goya intended to emphasize? Goya emphasized certain figures by highlighting
their features while contrasting their shapes against darker values in the background.
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9. The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters
1799, etching and aquatint, 8-1/2” x 5-7/8”, from “Los Caprichos”,
The Hispanic Society of America, New York
This print, also from the “ Los Caprichos” series, shows a self-portrait of the artist who has fallen
asleep while working. In the dark background, ominous flying creatures of the night torment him
(several owls and bats fly toward and around him while an angry cat crouches nearby). What we
see is both the sleeping Goya and the nightmare that he is dreaming: that when he falls asleep,
he is no longer in control of his logical reasoning, and that is when the dark, uncontrolled fantasies
rise up and threaten to overcome him. This work provides the underlying theme for all the “ Los
Caprichos” images: that whenever humans allow their reason to lapse, that is when irrationality
undoubtedly takes over.
Again, by adding the more diffused aquatint process to this etching, Goya was able to create
broad areas that printed as gray tonalities that added more subtle changes in values to the work.
The flying creatures in the background were created with darker values than those of the gray
background itself, but both the flying creatures and the background are darker in value than the
brighter shape of the sleeping artist in the foreground. It is this contrast, along with his placement
in the center foreground of the work, that gives the sleeping artist emphasis and that identifies him
as the focal point of the scene
Do you think this sleeping figure is having a nightmare or a pleasant dream? Nightmare!!!
Fun Fact???: In Spain, owls were symbols of folly, bats were symbols of ignorance, and cats were
symbols of witchcraft! Think about how these facts give special meaning to this work!
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10. To The Cemetery
1810-23, etching and aquatint, approx. 6-1/8” x 8-1/4”, from the “Disasters of War”,
The Hispanic Society of America, New York
When Goya created this particular series of etchings, he originally gave them a different and
longer title: “The Fatal Consequences of the Bloody War in Spain against Bonaparte and other
Striking Caprices in 85 Impressions”. Hardly anyone saw the plates or any of the prints in this set
during Goya’s lifetime, however, and they remained stored away until1863, when the plates to this
series were discovered and printed under their shorter title, “Disasters of War”.
These images bluntly depict the stark and brutal reality of war, In these prints, Goya clearly
showed how war turns men into beasts. The images in the series were based on his own
experiences and his eyewitness accounts of the many atrocities that were committed during the
French occupation of Spain from 1808 to 1814, by both French troops as well as by the Spanish
who resisted them. Both sides butchered their enemies in acts of revenge, and civilians were
rarely spared. Goya chose not to create traditional images of battle. Instead, his images included
summary shootings, piles of corpses, mutilated bodies, hangings, starving and wounded people
fleeing in panic—all the senseless results of violence. And, Goya was witness, as he said, “Yo lo
vi.” (“I saw it.”)
In this print, “To the Cemetery,” we see two men who struggle to carry a heavy body even while
another body lies in the street nearby. The shapes of the men and their heavy load are placed in
the center of the print, giving them emphasis against a nearly empty background. Value contrasts
define the shapes of the men as well as the body they carry and the size of the corpse is so large
that it further emphasizes the struggle the men must endure to carry it away to the cemetery for
burial. The absence of background behind the man on the left creates a negative shape that
outlines the positive shape of his head and shoulders.
This etching is from a series entitled “Disasters of War.” What do you think Goya is saying with
this etching? He might be saying that war causes death, suffering, horror, and misery and that it
creates difficult struggles for everyone.
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11. The Third of May
1808, 1814, oil on canvas, 104-3/4” x 135-7/8”, Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain
Between 1808 and 1812, France invaded and intermittently occupied Spain. When the French were
finally driven out and Spanish rule under Ferdinand VII was restored in 1813, Goya was commissioned
to, “perpetuate by means of the brush the most notable and heroic actions and scenes of our glorious
insurrection against the tyrant of Europe.” Goya accepted this commission because he wanted to show
his allegiance to the Spanish government. His loyalty had been questioned because of several
commissioned paintings that he had done for the French while they ruled Spain.
Here, Goya chose to depict the horror of France’s May 3, 1808, barbaric revenge for an event that began
on May 2 , 1808. On that day, a crowd of Madrid’s citizens attacked French-led Mameluke [Turkish]
troops in Puerta del Sol, the main square in Madrid. In retaliation, the French Marshall took revenge and
ordered French firing squads to shoot any Spaniards known to have taken part in the uprising or who
happened to be captured with weapons. Many citizens were executed among several sites in and around
Madrid. This painting depicts the hill of Principe Pío, where forty-three citizens were rounded up and
systematically shot in the pre-dawn hours of May 3, 1808. Goya documented this horrendous act in one
of the most famous paintings ever created to brutally portray the cruelty and savagery of war.
Against the backdrop of a dark hill at night, we see the firing squad level their rifles, ready to shoot their
latest victim. With their backs are to the viewer, they are faceless threatening shapes going about their
business mechanically. To the left is a kneeling victim who faces them bravely, his arms outstretched. He
is dramatically emphasized as the light from the lamp brilliantly reflects off his white shirt in contrast to
the darker values in the rest of the painting. He is the obvious focal point of the painting among the other
shapes that surround him—the comrades who stand nearby, hiding their faces from the horror while they
wait their turn, as well as those who have already been shot. The parallel lines of the rifles direct our
gaze to him; his outstretched arms acting as diagonal lines to lead us back to his dark face which is
emphasized and silhouetted against his white shirtsleeve. This painting offers a powerful vision of the
horrors of war.
How does Goya use light to emphasize the subject? The light from the lamp brilliantly reflects off the
victim’s white shirt, creating an immediate focal point. In turn, the white shirt also emphasizes,
silhouettes, and draws attention to the victim’s dark face.
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12. Goya, Self-Portrait
ca. 1816, oil on canvas, 18 1/8” x 13 3/4”, Museo del Prado, Madrid,Spain
Goya painted this self-portrait when he was about sixty-nine years old. He had withstood much:
deafness, the death of his wife, and Spain’s rebellious war with the French. By 1814, he had lost
his position as official Court Painter and many of his friends had died or had gone into exile.
Although still relatively strong and healthy, Goya was tired; his views of life and society had
soured and he withdrew into his own silent world where he created this self-portrait. It is one of the
most revealing ever to be painted. While Goya’s expression shows both sadness and resignation,
his steady gaze also reveals his firm and stubborn determination to endure, persist, and confront
whatever the future might hold.
Goya kept this painting in his studio. He painted it as a candid study, an exercise with a minimum
of details that focused on his old face and form, complete with graying hair, sagging chin, and
casual working clothes. Goya used thinly painted broad brushstrokes of browns and black to
create the negative space of the undefined background and his dark tunic that together contrast
with, outline, and emphasize the warm, highlighted shapes and features of his face and white
shirt.
How did Goya emphasize his features and form in this painting? Goya created a dark background
and tunic that contrast with, outline, and emphasize the warm, highlighted shapes and features of
his face and white shirt.
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13. Goya Attended by Dr. Arrieta
1820, oil on canvas, 45-1/2” x 31-1/8”, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN
In 1919, Goya became extremely ill, but, thanks to immediate and diligent attention by his friend
and physician, Eugenio García Arrieta, Goya managed to survive and eventually recover. To
convey his appreciation for Dr. Arrieta’s care, Goya created this portrait of himself with his friend
and gave it to him with the following message hand-written across the bottom of the canvas:
“Goya in gratitude to his friend Arrieta for the skill and great care with which he saved his life in his
acute and dangerous illness, suffered at the end of 1819, at the age of seventy three years. He
painted this in 1820.”
We see a pale, semi-conscious, and gravely ill Goya being held and supported by his friend,
Arrieta, who offers him a healing elixir to drink. In the dark and indistinct background are three
figures that some have described as either concerned friends, ghastly devils who lurk and wait for
a chance to snatch Goya’s soul, or two attendants and a priest who patiently waits nearby to see if
he will have to give last-rites to a dying Goya.
Their placement in the center of the canvas makes the figures of Goya and Arrieta the focal point
of the composition. The positive shapes of Goya and Arrieta are outlined and emphasized by the
surrounding negative space of the dark background. Value changes define the contours of their
bodies, and value contrast emphasizes them against the mysterious, gloomy background. Goya,
as the suffering patient, has more emphasis because his form, clothing, and skin tones are all
depicted in sickly, paler tones than those used for Arrieta.
How did Goya achieve the contours of his form and that of Dr. Arrieta in this composition? Goya
used value changes to define the contours of both his form and that of Dr. Arrieta in this
composition.
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14. The Milkmaid of Bordeaux
1827, oil on canvas, 29-5/8” x 27-1/4”, Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain
In 1824, Goya decided that he had to leave Spain for exile in France. He ended up living in the
town of Bordeaux, where he continued to paint for his own enjoyment until his death in 1828. He
began to experiment with new artistic techniques, including the use of a palette knife or a rag for
applying paint to his canvases. The broader strokes that he used to apply the paint would
eventually come to the attention of, and influence, several of the Impressionists later on in the 19th
Century.
In this painting Goya captured a slightly out of focus vision of a woman, just as he might have
seen her through his own failing eyesight. Her shape was given emphasis by its central placement
against the indistinct and empty background. The positive shape of her form is also outlined and
emphasized by the negative shape of the background. The contours of her shape are defined by
several value contrasts, such as that created between her dark hair and the lighter background, or
between her light face and her dark hair. Value changes also give the shape of the Milkmaid
dimension through shading, highlights, and shadows that form her hairdo and scarf, her features,
shoulders, and clothing.
Since Goya used similar colors in both the positive and negative shapes in this painting, how was
he able to emphasize the woman? The positive shape of her form is outlined and emphasized by
the negative shape of the background. Value changes also give the shape of the Milkmaid
dimension through shading, highlights, and shadows that form her hairdo and scarf, her features,
shoulders, and clothing.
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15. The Agility and Audacity of Juanito Apiñani in the Bullring
1816, etching and aquatint, 9-5/8” x 14”, The Hispanic Society of America, New York
“La Tauromaquia,” The Art of Bullfighting, was a set of 33 original etchings combined with aquatint that
Goya created and published himself in 1816. He was a life-long fan of the Corrida de Torros, the
bullfight, and Goya’s prints depicted imaginative and romanticized scenes regarding the history of
bullfighting as well as many dramatic moments, famous bullfights, and tragedies that Goya actually
witnessed himself. Goya’s etchings were unusual, not only because he portrayed the bullfighters as
both heroic and sometimes crazy celebrities—but because he would often depict the bulls as bold,
valiant, and celebrated creatures, too.
This etching shows the remarkable daring and skill of a famous bullfighter named Juanito Aspiñani
who entertained the crowds by regularly performing a very risky move: a perfectly-timed pole-vault
leap up and over the horns and back of a charging bull!
Although we are aware that this exciting scene is taking place in a bullring, Goya used a minimum of
background details and strong value contrasts to emphasize the forms of the bull and bullfighter. The
bull and the vaulting form of Juanito are both darker positive shapes and both are outlined and
emphasized by their central placement against the negative, empty white space of the bullring floor
and the highlighted area of the wall in the background. The vaulting pole that Juanito grasps is a stark
vertical white line, perpendicular to the combined horizontal black shadow formed by both bull and
bullfighter. Goya added a few people in the stands in the background who watch as the bull charges
and Juanito leaps, but their figures are indistinct; their dark and subtle value changes blends their
forms with the rest of the shadowed background.
Agility =
nimbleness, coordination, quickness, swiftness.
Audacity =
boldness, courage, daring, fearlessness;
also, foolhardiness, rashness, recklessness.
What do the meanings of these words in the title of this print tell you about this scene?
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