Francisco Goya

"The act of painting is about one heart telling another heart where he found salvation" 

This quote is quoted by one of the last old masters and a forefather of modern art. Francisco Goya is renowned as one of history's most influential figures. Some of the very famous works of Francisco Goya are The Nude Maja, 'The Clothed Maja,' 'Charles IV of Spain and his family,' The third of May 1808,' and the 'Saturn devouring his son. 

Francisco Goya is called the father of modern art, who painted royal portraits and more provocative work in the late 1700s and early 1800s. He was born on March 30, 1746, in Fuendetodos, Spain.

Artful journey of Goya

In Saragossa, he began to study painting when he was 14. He was the student of Jose Luzan Martinez. He began his painting career by imitating some great painters such as Rembrandt and Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez. Goya started to work for Spain's royal family and begin painting tapestry cartoons, which served as the model for woven tapestries for the factory in Madrid. These paintings portrayed scenes from daily life, like 'The Parasol' and 'The pottery vendor.' 

Achievements of Goya

In 1779, he was summoned as a painter for the royal court. This is when Francisco Goya started becoming famous as a portrait artist and working for many royal families. His works suggest the Duke and Duchess of Osuna and their children 1787 to 1788. Goya was married to Bayeu y Subias, who was the sister of his art teacher Francisco and Ramon Bayeu y Subias. 

Goya's personal life

They also had a child together; his name was Xavier. In 1792, the bad days of Goya began when he entirely became deaf after suffering from an unknown disease. At this phase of his life, his style also changed. He started working on local or non-commissioned paintings, which included portraits of women from all the phases of life. But after intensively enduring, he was named as the director of the Royal Academy in 1795. Goya created a streamlined painting called 'Los Caprichos' in 1799, which was considered his vision and perspective on political and social events. Those paintings revealed the black days are going on in the country and how his nation was drowning in corruption, greed, and repression. The specialty of Goya's paintings were that they were unusual and unprecedented approach to art.  Looking for his  painting replicas, commission artwork  of  this famous Artist.

Famous work of Francisco Goya

The Nude Maja

The Nude Maja is one of his most controversial paintings. As the title says, it interprets the nudeness of a lower-class woman of Madrid named Maja. Due to her poverty, she posed completely naked for Goya. Yet, the nude Maja is gratuitously displayed without clothing. It is now hung in both the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando and the Prado. 

The Clothed Maja

Accompanying these paintings right after five years, Goya made another portrait of the same woman, but this time she was clothed. This painting was known as the clothed Maja. 

Charles IV of Spain and Family

His other famous work was produced in 1799 when he was 53 years old. Goya became the Primer Pintor de Camara, the most respected and prestigious position for a Spanish court painter. In his court paintings like "Charles IV of Spain and his family," he fixed the flaws of the figures in detail and materialized as stiff and staged look add an over the top family. 

The Third of May 1808

His other painting was 'The third of May 1808', 1814. He painted a radically political picture that paid tribute to the fighters of Spanish who fought against French armies during one of the Napoleonic wars. Goya's perspective and vision were invariably very dark, clearly shown in his art on 'The third of May 1808. In fact, it is one of the essential pieces of modern art. It is one of the most revolutionary paintings. 

Saturn Devouring His Son

'Saturn devouring his son' was one of the most frightening and thrilling works of Goya. 

Last Days of Goya

In 1824 Goya's health started getting worse due to the political climate that he created around him by his paintings; his life became quite disturbing, so he flew outside of Spain. In Bordeaux, France, he lived the last days of his life. Even during this time, he continued to paint. Some of his last works were the portraits of friends living with him. He finally died on April 16th, 1828. 

As a father of modern art, Francisco Goya will always be remembered as a splendid and phenomenal artist who didn't fear the objections of influential people. Still, he showed the black face of dirty politics and inspired a generation of artists after him.