During our previous lecture, we looked at Francisco Goya and some of his artworks. Before I comment on some of the artworks, I want to add a section for his biography.
Biography:
Goya was born on the 30th of March 1746 in Spain. Goya was very keen on creating contemporary pieces that showcase historical events.
He started studying in Zaragoza and then went to Madrid under the guidance of Francisco Bayeu. Goya ended up marrying Bayeu’s sister in 1773.
Goya also worked for the Spain's royal family where he painted tapestry cartoons.
His career launched in 1775 when he created the series of more than 60 cartoons. In 1780, he was elected a member of the royal academy of san Fernando.
In 1792 he became completely deaf after suffering from malady. He dies on 16th April 1828.
These are some of the art pieces we looked at in class:
This was a painting of the royal family of Spain, when he was hired to work for them. The way Goya worked with shadows and colours was brilliant. The focal point of the image, where the light hits, is on Queen Maria Luisa who is holding her sons and daughters hand. This evokes a sense of love and warmth to the viewer. King Charles is oddly placed to the side, which shows that the true leader of the family was indeed the queen.
'Goya's subversive critique - disguised as a glorifying portrait - of the corruption of Charles IV's reign is further enhanced by the subject of a painting hanging in the background, which shows the Biblical story of the immoral and incestuous Lot and his daughters.' (the art story, n.d.)
The amount of detail included in this painting stands out to me a lot. Goya adds luxury golden colours that help intensify the royalty. He adds their garments and clothing in great detail to showcase the layers and jewellery worn by them.
Being deaf made him realise how corrupt society and people were, and he started painting everything as he viewed them. In this painting, saturn is depicted eating his son because he was too afraid of their power and the possibility that they would overthrow him when they grew older. This is a part of greek mythology and it was painted directly onto his walls.
Similarly to the dark theme of this painting, Goya uses dark and dull colours to further evoke the eerie sense created in the picture. The dead son is depicted motionless and headless as he is already eaten by his father.
Even though this is a really disturbing piece, I can appreciate the brilliant painting. It also conveys a meaning to the viewer regarding how Goya himself was feeling at the time.
He portrays intense emotions which reflects Goya's fear of insanity and his views on humans. It shows that he had a pessimistic attitude which also indicate how terrified he was towards his illnesses.
Originally, the myth said that saturn would swallow his sons and they would still be alive once they reached his stomach. However, Goya wanted to depict a more disgusting and shocking image by revealing blood and showing the intense anger in saturns eyes.
I like how he complements the artwork by creating dark and dull surroundings. The emotion in his eyes really make the painting much better as he able to showcase everything through the eyes.
In this painting, more earthy tones are used to showcase the natural environment they're in. The focal point of the image is the goat standing. It is the darkest element in the picture which makes it stand out from the rest.
The witches are all sitting around the goat, and look scared and frightened. The painting progressively gets from earthy tones to dark tones in the sky which may suggest that something weird is going on.
I really like this picture as it is depicts an unrealistic phenomenon. I like the motion in which the goat is in and the eyes are bright and wide open to show that he is perhaps casting a spell.
Conclusion: Just like the previous term, I really enjoy looking into other artists. I was familiar with Goya and his work but not in such great depth. The lecture was beneficial for me to learn more about him and study his work in greater detail.
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