Francisco Jos? Goya Y Lucientes Essay, Research Paper

Born on March 30, 1746, in Aragon province of Spain. The reason for this man?s two lastnames is that it is a Spanish custom to take on both parents? last names to make a combinationfor their own, his father?s last name was Goya and his mother?s, Lucientes, but he is most widelyknown by the name Goya. He lived in a very common family of the time, he worked as a gilderfor a short while with his father in the town he was born in, Fuendetodos. But due to theeconomical needs of his family, Goya was sent to the fields and he suffered through long days ofmanual labor to make ends meet. In Goya?s adolescence, his family moved to Zaragoza becausehis father wanted a better life for his family. There he was sent to a parish school where hisartistic talent blossomed. Goya?s father saw the great aspirations of his child so he sent him toJos? Luz?n?s Art Academy. Goya was a wild and crazy young man with a very rowdy and ?cutting edge? attitude. Heand his lifelong friend, Martin Zapater, always used to cause a few rumbles in the streets ofZaragoza. But when one of his little rumbles caused some people to die, Goya was forced out ofthe religious city. So the young lad of 19 sought out for Madrid. In Madrid he applied foradmission to the Royal Academy of San Fernando. The painting he made for the competitionwas rejected, which surprised him because his artwork wasn?t normally rejected. But thedisappointed artist got over it and went to Italy. In Italy, Goya studied about various Italian artists. In the two years he spent in thisglamorous country he developed a fascination with the work of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.Tiepolo?s work intrigued the mind of Goya, and some of Goya?s work has a little of Tiepolo init. Studying was not the only thing that kept Goya occupied, he had also entered a paintingcontest in Parma where he won second place. Goya also reverted to his rambunctious behaviorwhich forced him to flee, again. Goya then went back to Zaragoza where he painted parts of the Lady of Pilar Church.Here the young artist was introduced to a court painter of the Royal Academy, Francisco Bayeu.Because of Bayeu?s close connections to King Charles III, Goya was able to get a commission todesign cartoons that depicted stories of Spanish life for the curtains of the palace. He thenpainted 45 admirable cartoons which made his work recognizable to the Spanish court. He hadalso fallen in love with Bayeu?s sister, Josefa, in the process and he later married her. At thishigh point in his life, he received his first great commission, to paint a portrait of the king. Thiswas a high honor and he knew from that point his life couldn?t get better. He was right, for his popularity grew greater and greater. Goya was commissioned topaint the royal family and other prestigious families, churches, chapels, and tapestries were at hisdisposal. He held the highest positions an artist could take, from director of the Royal Academyto royal painter of Charles IV. Goya led a life of joy and glamour, then he met the Dutchess ofAlba. She was an extravagant woman whom he painted many portraits of. But while workingwith her he became very sick which resulted in him becoming deaf. This was the point in his life where he began a duration of solitude which brought out hisanalytical side and developed him as a thinker. He began creating etchings which satirized thepolitical, social, and religious affairs of society. He did this using his studies of expressionism.Goya, like many other thinkers of his time, was threatened be the Inquisition. Goya then had togive in to the King?s ways and he continued as his royal painter. Goya then continued jumping back and forth on the bad side or the good side of hissuperiors. His methods had always contradicted with society. His artwork said things that wentagainst many standards of religion to politics, but he always included his expressionistic ways inthe all of his artwork. He depicted various events and stories through his artwork. FromNapoleon?s invasion to the just the mere Bulls of Bordeaux, Goya always was able to create apiece which was not only meant to tell a story but to also present the feelings and emotionswhich are sparked by the techniques and the color of the pieces. Again, Goya had become thatsame rebel he was before but this time it shows in his artwork. One piece of artwork that embodies some of his expressionistic methods is in his piece orpieces ?The Clothed Maja? and ?The Naked Maja?. These were oil paintings where Goya drawsthe same woman in the same position with the only difference being that she is clothed in oneand not in the other. He captures the fullness and the embodiment of a woman?s body usingdifferent depictions. He did this through using a great contrast of value, which is present inalmost all of his pieces. Dark and light tend to flow with each other and they complement withon another. In these two works you see the naked one being bright and fluid, simple oncedescribed through color. In a metaphoric sense this piece shows the power of simple expressionand openness, with it?s simple contrast of value and a brightness which brings out a pleasant andhappy emotion. The clothed piece, on the other hand, symbolized the sadness of covering onestrue self. He did this using a greater concentration of darkness in his piece rather than light tobetter compliment his other piece. I think it invokes more dreary feelings and a bitter and glumatmosphere because shadows are more evident. As Elizabeth Ripley states ?Goya?s use ofbrilliant color along with light and shade in his graphic work to achieve dramatic effectinfluenced the impressionist movement,..? this is indeed true but I think this statement isn?t asbroadened, I think Goya?s work has influenced all art styles. Because of his courage to stand up against the system, Goya has become a greatcontributor of today?s art. This is because he was the first artist to comment on the events ofsociety within his art with great emotion. He survived through the Baroque period with a style ofhis own. He uniquely depicted scenes and personalities with the simple art methods of value andcolor. This is why I chose him, his methods may be simple but he is able to tell stories with hisart work, this is one thing I aspire to do. I am also greatly interested in his vast experience withvalue. The way he ties this in to all of his pieces to better express his emotions is just amazing. Itry to do this in my art, like in my triptych which I had in the sky and with the water but itsometimes doesn?t turn out like I expect it to. I?m sure it?ll take a lot of practice though to get tobe as good as Goya.

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