Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (30 March 1746 – 30 April 1828) was a Spanish painter. He painted many portraits of the Spanish Royal Family. His most famous paintings are Charles IV of Spain and His Family and The Third of May 1808. He regularly painted the famous Duchess of Alba.
Life
Youth
Goya was born in Fuendetodos, in the region of Aragón, Spain, in 1746. His parents were José Benito de Goya y Franque and Gracia de Lucientes y Salvador. He spent his childhood in Fuendetodos. His father's work was gilding (putting gold onto picture frames). In about 1749, the family moved to a house in the city of Zaragoza. Goya went to school at Escuelas Pias. He became best friends with Martin Zapater. Through their lives, they wrote many letters to each other. Because of these letters, historians know a lot about Goya's life. When he was 14 Goya became an apprentice to the painter José Luzán.
Goya later moved to Madrid where he studied with Anton Raphael Mengs, a painter who was popular with Spanish royalty. Goya and Mengs did not like each other, and Goya got bad marks in his examinations. Goya tried to join the Spanish Royal Academy of Fine Art in 1763 and 1766, but failed.
He then traveled to Rome. In 1771 he won second prize in a painting competition in the city of Parma. Later that year, he returned to Zaragoza. He got work painting frescos in several buildings including the dome of the Basilica of the Pillar. He studied with the painter Francisco Bayeu y Subías. His painting began to show the style which later made his famous.
Success
Goya married Bayeu's sister, Josefa, in 1774. Francisco Bayeu was a member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Fine Art. This helped Goya to get work with the Royal Tapestry Workshop. He worked there for 5 years, and designed 42 patterns. Many of his designs were made into tapestries and used to decorate the bare stone walls of the royal palaces, such as El Escorial. The Spanish Royal family saw his works and later gave him work as a portrait painter. He also painted an altarpiece (Holy picture) for the Church of San Francisco El Grande. Because of this picture, Goya was at last made a member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Fine Art.
In 1783, the Count of Florida blanca, commissioned Goya (gave Goya the paid work) to paint his portrait. Then King Charles III of Spain and other important people wanted Goya to paint their portraits. Goya became friends with Crown Prince Don Luis, and lived in his house. From 1788, in the reign of Charles IV, Goya became even more popular.
Later life
In the 1790s Goya became ill. It is not known exactly what his illness was. It is believed that he suffered mental breakdown. He may have had viral encephalitis or several strokes. He may have suffered from dementia. It is also thought that he may have been poisoned by lead paint. His sight, hearing, balance and mental health were all affected.
His unhappiness was also affected by the French invasion of Spain in 1808. One of his most famous paintings, The Third of May 1808, is about the execution of Spanish men trying to defend their country.
After the defeat of the French, Goya did not get on well with King Ferdinand VII. Goya moved to a house far away from the court. He lived there with his housekeeper and her daughter, and taught painting to the girl, Rosario Weiss. Some of the walls of the house are painted with strange dark pictures, but it is not sure whether Goya did them. For two years Goya lived in France but returned to Spain where he was warmly welcomed home in 1826, He died in 1828 at the age of 82.
Works
Court paintings
Goya's early cartoons for the royal tapestries are merry scenes of festivals in bright colours.
Goya painted portraits of many famous people, including the Duke of Wellington. His paintings of the Royal Family of Charles IV of Spain and Ferdinand VII show them looking like very ordinary people, not like proud nobility. Queen Maria Luisa was delighted with the large portrait that he did of her family in 1800, even though a French writer Théophile Gautier said that Goya made them look "like the corner baker and his wife after they had won the lottery".