Francisco Goya Biography

Francisco Goya was a famous Spanish painter, who rose to popularity for his commissioned portraits of the Spanish nobility. His portraits were unique creations of how he saw things and captured them on the canvas without artificially beautifying them. Considered to be the greatest Spanish painter during the late 18th century and early 19th century, his exemplary portraits, paintings, etches and murals marked the start of the contemporary painting era. After struggling and trying to establish himself as a painter at several places, he found initial success while studying and painting under Aragonese painter, Francisco Bayeu y Subias. His employment at the Royal Tapestry Factory helped him strengthen his career over the next few years, creating numerous cartoons inspired from everyday life, several of which were used to beautify the two Spanish royal palaces. He went on to compose portraits of various royal families, thus earning reputation as a portrait artist. Besides, he created a series of masterpieces, which beacon his distinct style and talent, some of them being ‘The Black Paintings’, ‘The Disasters of War’, ‘The Naked Maja’, ‘The Clothed Maja’, and ‘The Third of May 1808’. His works have largely influenced the later generation of artists during the 20th century, especially Pablo Picasso, Paul Cezanne Edgar Degas, Francis Bacon, and Edouard Manet.