Lena Rivera
Francisco Goya is regarded as one of the most important Spanish artists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His portraits, which were considered unique for their time due to their lack of flattery and focus on realism, were highly revered by his contemporaries. Other important portrait painters of Goya's time include Anton Raphael Mengs, a German artist who worked as a court painter for the Spanish royal family, and Francisco Bayeu, a Spanish court painter whom Goya studied under. Diego Velázquez, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, and Rembrandt van Rijn were also influential painters during Goya's lifetime, though they were no longer active by the time Goya began his career.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Francisco de Goya y Lucientes |
| Birth Year | 1746 |
| Birthplace | Fuendetodos, Aragon, Spain |
| Family Background | Middle-class or lower-middle-class |
| Education | Studied painting under José Luzán y Martinez in Zaragoza, Spain; later studied with Anton Raphael Mengs in Madrid |
| Career | Court painter to the Spanish Crown, including King Charles III, Charles IV, and King Charles IV's family; became First Court Painter in 1790; appointed Director of the Royal Academy in 1795; became Primer Pintor de Cámara (Prime Court Painter) in 1799 |
| Art Style | Realism, Romanticism, Old Master, Modern |
| Influences | Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Anton Raphael Mengs, Diego Velázquez, Rembrandt van Rijn, nature |
| Notable Works | The Naked Maja, The Clothed Maja, The Family of Charles IV, The Third of May 1808: The Execution of the Defenders of Madrid, Saturn Devouring His Son, Los Caprichos, The Disasters of War |
| Legacy | Influenced important 19th and 20th-century painters, including Manet, Picasso, Francis Bacon, Jake and Dinos Chapman |
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What You'll Learn
Diego Velázquez
Velázquez's early works are bodegones (kitchen scenes with prominent still-life). His Old Woman Frying Eggs (1618) demonstrates the young artist's skill in realistic depiction and dramatic lighting. He also painted religious works such as The Immaculate Conception or Saint John the Evangelist on Patmos. In 1617, Velázquez finished his apprenticeship and was granted the right to set up his own studio. A year later, he married Pacheco's daughter, Juana, and they had two daughters.
In 1623, Velázquez was asked to paint a portrait of the young King Philip IV. The king was so delighted with the result that he immediately appointed Velázquez as one of his court painters, and from then on, Velázquez was the only painter allowed to paint the king. Velázquez travelled to Italy in 1629 to study Italian painting and buy new paintings for the king. He was promoted to administrative positions in the royal household, including Assistant to the Wardrobe in 1636 and Gentleman of the Bedchamber in 1643. He continued to paint royal portraits of the king and his family, including the queen, their children, and court jesters and dwarfs.
Velázquez's most famous work is Las Meninas (1656), a masterpiece that includes a self-portrait of the artist at work in the court. He was offered knighthood in 1658 and died in Madrid in 1660. Velázquez's paintings inspired 19th-century realist and impressionist painters, and artists such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, and Francis Bacon paid tribute to him by re-interpreting his iconic images.
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Francisco Bayeu
Bayeu initially studied in Zaragoza under José Luzán Martínez, and later in Madrid under Antonio González Velázquez. In 1758, he received a scholarship to study in Madrid at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. While in Madrid, he created some religious works, notably at the Charterhouse of Aula Dei. In 1762, he was called back to Madrid by Anton Raphael Mengs to help decorate the New Palace. In 1763, he was given a position at the Royal Tapestry Factory by King Charles III, where he created tapestry designs and cartoons. That same year, he was recalled to Madrid to help decorate the Royal Palace.
Bayeu participated in numerous decorative projects for the Royal Seats, including the royal palaces in Madrid, El Pardo, La Granja, and Aranjuez. He was appointed chamber painter in 1767 and primarily worked as a fresco painter. In 1768, he painted images of Hercules on Mount Olympus for the dome of the conversation room in the Prince and Princess of Asturias's quarters. He also undertook the decoration of the royal chapel at Aranjuez Palace.
Bayeu's mature style was a blend of French Rococo and the academic classicism of Mengs. He is best known for his frescos, and his drawings are beautifully animated. He created frescoes for the Cathedral of El Pilar in Zaragoza, the Toledo Cathedral, and various palaces and churches. Among his religious compositions, an important group of eleven scenes that he painted for the cloister of Toledo Cathedral between 1776 and 1787 stand out.
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Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Tiepolo was born in Venice to a small shipping merchant, Domenico Tiepolo, and Orsetta Tiepolo. He was the youngest of six children. His father died when Tiepolo was around a year old, leaving his mother to raise the family. In 1710, Tiepolo became a pupil of Gregorio Lazzarini, a successful painter with an eclectic style. He was also influenced by other contemporary artists such as Sebastiano Ricci, Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, and Federico Bencovich, as well as his Venetian predecessors, especially Tintoretto and Veronese.
Tiepolo's earliest known works are depictions of the apostles, painted as part of the decoration of Santa Maria dei Derelitti in Venice in 1715–16. He also painted many works for the Doge, Giovanni II Cornaro, including portraits, his first fresco, and oversaw the hanging of pictures at his palace. In 1719, Tiepolo married the noblewoman Maria Cecilia Guardi, sister to two contemporary Venetian painters, and they had nine children. Two of his sons, Giovanni Domenico and Lorenzo, worked as his assistants and later became recognised artists in their own right.
Tiepolo produced two sets of etchings, the Capricci (c. 1740–1742) and the Scherzi di fantasia (c. 1743–1757). The subject matter was often fantastical, and the works drew inspiration from artists such as Salvator Rosa and Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione. By 1750, Tiepolo's reputation was firmly established throughout Europe, and he decorated residences for royalty and nobility in Germany, Spain, and Italy.
Tiepolo's greatest works include the frescoed ceilings he painted for churches in Venice and villas and palaces in Italy, Germany, and Spain. He was highly prolific and successful throughout his career, and his work continues to be celebrated and collected.
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Anton Raphael Mengs
In 1745, Mengs became the painter to the Saxon court in Dresden, executing a large number of portraits, most in brightly coloured pastels. He returned to Rome in the early 1750s and became a close friend of the German art critic Johann Joachim (J.J.) Winckelmann. Mengs shared Winckelmann's enthusiasm for classical antiquity, and his fresco Parnassus at the Villa Albani in Rome, completed in 1761, helped establish the dominance of Neoclassical painting over the then-popular Rococo style. Mengs also continued to paint portraits during this period, competing with Pompeo Batoni, the leading Rococo portraitist of the Roman school.
In 1749, Mengs was appointed the first painter to Frederick Augustus, Elector of Saxony. That same year, he accepted a commission from the Duke of Northumberland to create a copy of Raphael's fresco The School of Athens for his London home. Executed in oil on canvas, Mengs's painting is full-sized but adapted to a rectangular format with added figures. It is now held in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Mengs converted to Catholicism and in 1754 became director of the Vatican painting school. In 1757, he painted a fresco on the dome of the church of Sant'Eusebio in Rome.
Mengs was widely regarded in his day as Europe's greatest living painter. His treatise Reflections on Beauty and Taste in Painting (1762) was influential in his time. He was a strong advocate for formal arts education and national art academies, and many of his pupils went on to achieve prominent positions in academies across Europe. Mengs died in Rome in June 1779 and was buried in the Church of Santi Michele e Magno.
Francisco Goya, one of the greatest painters and printmakers of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, studied under Mengs in Madrid. Goya's time with Mengs was largely unsuccessful, and the two men are thought to have clashed. Goya's submissions to the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in 1763 and 1766 were rejected.
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Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, mononymously known as Rembrandt, was a painter, draughtsman, and printmaker from the Netherlands. He is considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of Western art. Born in 1606, Rembrandt was a contemporary of Francisco Goya, who was born in 1746.
Rembrandt's surviving works include about 300 paintings, 300 etchings, and several hundred drawings. His oeuvre encompasses a wide range of styles and subjects, including portraits, self-portraits, landscapes, genre scenes, biblical themes, and animal studies. He is known for his innovative use of light and shadow in his portraits, creating a sense of depth and capturing the essence of his subjects.
Rembrandt's early life and education laid the foundation for his artistic career. He was born into a relatively well-off family, with his father being a successful miller. At the age of 14, he began studying at the University of Leiden, but soon discovered his passion for art. He left the university and began apprenticing under painters like Jacob van Swanenburg and the renowned history painter Pieter Lastman.
In 1631, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam, where he established himself as a successful portraitist. He stayed with an art dealer, Hendrick van Uylenburgh, and married his cousin, Saskia van Uylenburgh, in 1634. The couple had a happy marriage, and Rembrandt's portraits of Saskia reflect their deep connection. During this period, he also acquired several students, including Ferdinand Bol and Govert Flinck.
Rembrandt's influence extended beyond his lifetime, and he is regarded as a master of portraiture and a pioneer in the use of light and shadow. His works inspired later artists, including Francisco Goya, who counted Rembrandt among his artistic influences.
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Frequently asked questions
Francisco Goya was a Spanish painter and printmaker of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Some important painters of portraits during his time included:
- Anton Raphael Mengs, a popular painter with Spanish royalty, whom Goya studied under.
- Diego Velázquez, whose work influenced Goya's portraits of royalty.
- Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, who influenced Goya's decoration of the church of San Antonio de la Florida in Madrid.
Goya's portraits were known for their disinclination to flatter, and he often portrayed the ugliness and vulgarity of his subjects, particularly in his royal portraits. His style was described as "drastic" and "eccentric", with a unique marriage of tradition and modernity.
Some of Goya's most famous portraits include:
- Charles IV of Spain and His Family, which portrays the Spanish royal family in a brutally realistic manner.
- La maja desnuda, a daring nude portrait of either Godoy's mistress or the Duchess of Alba.
- The Marquesa de Pontejos, a full-length portrait of a society lady.
- Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuñiga, a portrait of the Altamiras' third son, which showcases Goya's interest in light and pattern.
Goya's patrons included the Spanish royalty, such as King Charles III and Charles IV, the Duke and Duchess of Osuna, and other nobles and court officials.
