1814 OIL ON CANVAS
266 × 345 CM (104½ × 135¾ IN)
MUSEO DEL PRADO, MADRID, SPAIN
Commemorating Spanish resistance to Napoleon’s armies during the occupation of 1808, Goya depicts the horrific public execution of insurgents as French soldiers fail to suppress them. The painting was revolutionary in its subject matter, composition and handling. With its expressive use of color and dramatic composition, this conveys the suffering of his compatriots at the hands of the French. Most of the victims have faces; the killers do not. The pose, white shirt and dreadful facial expression of the central figure are reminiscent of Jesus on the Cross and serve to evoke viewers’ compassion.
The artistic career of the Spanish artist Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was long and successful. Principal painter to Charles IV of Spain, he was the most powerful and original European artist of his time. Prodigiously gifted as a draftsman, printmaker and painter, he is considered both the last old master and the first modern painter.
Apart from an excursion to Rome for a year from 1770 to 1771, Goya spent most of his life in Spain. Born near Saragossa, he began training at the age of 14. At 17, he went to Madrid and studied with Anton Raphael Mengs (1728–79), a painter who was popular with the Spanish royal family. Goya’s style was influenced from then on by Mengs and by Tiepolo, who was working in Spain.
After spending time in Rome, Goya returned to Saragossa and painted frescoes for the local cathedral in the fashionable Rococo style. These established his reputation. From 1775 to 1792, he designed for the royal tapestry factory in Madrid, producing his first genre paintings of everyday life. Through these, he developed a keen eye for the nuances of human behavior and also became established as a portrait painter to the Spanish aristocracy. In 1786 he became painter to Charles III, and in 1789, to Charles IV.
In 1792, a serious illness left Goya permanently deaf and he became more introspective. His work increasingly featured fantasies from his imagination, blended with sardonic observations of human behavior, and he evolved a bold and quite savage style, satirizing human flaws. His portraits became insightful depictions of his subjects rather than flattering representations and his religious frescoes displayed a loose, uninhibited style and an unrefined application of paint that was unique in works featuring sacred subjects.
Goya served as director of painting at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando from 1795 to 1797 and was appointed first Spanish court painter in 1799. His study of the works of Velázquez in the royal collection resulted in a looser, more spontaneous painting technique and he also became influenced by Neoclassicism. During the Napoleonic invasion and the Spanish War of Independence from 1808 to 1814, he painted for the French court. When the Spanish monarchy was restored, he was pardoned for serving the French, but his work did not appeal to the new king. He moved outside Madrid and remained isolated from society. Free from court restrictions, he adopted an increasingly personal style, expressing his darkest, nightmarish visions. In 1824, after the failure of an attempt to restore liberal government, he moved to France, settling in Bordeaux and continuing to work there until his death in 1828. Goya produced more than 700 paintings during his lifetime. His versatile, imaginative and expressive works, with their free and experimental handling, influenced many later artists, particularly Manet and Picasso.
Key Works
The Holy Family c.1775–80, MUSEO DEL PRADO, MADRID, SPAIN
The Clothed Maja (La Maja Vestida) 1800–3, MUSEO DEL PRADO, MADRID, SPAIN
Senora Sabasa García c.1806–7, THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, WASHINGTON, DC, US
The Second of May, 1808 at the Puerta del Sol 1814, MUSEO DEL PRADO, MADRID, SPAIN
Self-Portrait 1815, ROYAL ACADEMY OF SAN FERNANDO, MADRID, SPAIN
DAVID
1748–1825 • NEOCLASSICISM
The Death of Marat
1793 OIL ON CANVAS
165 × 128 CM (65 × 50 IN)
MUSÉES ROYAUX DES BEAUX-ARTS, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
Jean-Paul Marat was a popular revolutionary. He defended the rights of the poor in a newspaper, L’Ami du Peuple, and the Royalists hated him. A young woman called Charlotte Corday murdered him while he was sitting in a bath to relieve a skin condition. Sympathizing with Marat, David portrayed him as an admirable hero.
Considered the unrivaled painter of the era, Jacques-Louis David perfected the new Neoclassical style, influencing several generations of painters. A supporter of the French Revolution, his academic style of history painting instigated a shift in taste from the light-hearted Rococo style toward a more classical sobriety, which was more in keeping with the mood of the period.
Raised from the age of nine by two uncles, François Buron (1731–1818) and Jacques-François Desmaisons (c.1720–89), who were both architects and building contractors, the young David received a good education. His family wanted him to become an architect, but he insisted on being a painter and was sent to study with François Boucher, a distant relative and the leading painter of the day. As modern tastes were changing, Boucher decided that his Rococo style was not suitable for David and so he sent him to his friend Joseph-Marie Vien (1716–1809), a painter with a more modern approach who taught at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in Paris.
In 1774, David won the prestigious art scholarship, the Prix de Rome, which meant he was able to study for five years at the French Academy in Rome, from 1775 to 1780. By the time he returned to France, he had completely rejected the Rococo style and developed a more classical approach, influenced by his study of ancient works and, in particular, the paintings of Raphael he had seen in Rome. By 1781, a year after his return to Paris, David had been made an associate member of the Académie Royale and his status was growing rapidly. In France, the frivolous Rococo style was associated with court life and David’s austere Neoclassical style was viewed as an expression of the new thinking and changes in French society. After the French Revolution in 1789, David actively participated in political life. In 1791, he was elected a deputy of the Convention from Paris. He voted for the death of Louis XVI in 1793, which is somewhat odd as the king had supported him so strongly, but nonetheless, he supported Robespierre and the left radicals’ regime. He served on various committees and used his art as propaganda for the new republic. After Robespierre and his closest supporters were overthrown, David was arrested twice and narrowly escaped the guillotine. His political career ended, but his artistic career revived and his work was appreciated for its patriotism, clarity and purity of style.
Once Napoleon had restored order to France, David became devoted to him. The Emperor commissioned many works, including portraits and large paintings glorifying his life. In 1803, Napoleon made David a knight (or chevalier) of his newly founded Legion of Honor. After the fall of Napoleon and the Bourbon restoration, although he was offered the position of court painter, David refused and fled to Brussels in 1816. Now approaching 70, he turned to mythological subjects and intimate portraiture, abandoning the large-scale historical works that had maintained his reputation through such turbulent times. David’s legacy was far-reaching. He taught many great artists, including Gros, Gérard and Ingres, and his descriptive, polished and noble style continued to influence many other painters until the middle of the 19th century.
Key Works
The Oath of Horatii 1784, MUSÉE DU LOUVRE, PARIS, FRANCE