GOYA – THE BLACK PAINTINGS

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He’s considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Successful in his lifetime, Goya is often referred to as both the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. He was also one of the great portraitists of his time.

Los pinturas negras (the black paintings) is a collection of 14 murals painted by Goya in the final home of his lifetime. He moved in at the age of 72 (in 1819) and the black paintings were finished in 1823. They were never intended for public display and represent themes personal to Goya. The black paintings were removed from Goya’s walls, after his death, and transferred onto canvas by the local authorities. 200 years later the black paintings are burdened by an official naming and description invented by the Spanish government rather than Goya himself.