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The Romantic Era

 

Goya first established his artistic reputation after returning home to Saragossa and being commissioned to paint frescoes for the local cathedral in 1771. In these frescoes Goya first painted in the rococo style popular at the time, but soon he individualized his style by combining many influences of art of the time. In 1773 Goya married Josefa Bayeu and together they had many children with only one, Xavier, surviving to adulthood. Goya's formative period was from 1775 to 1792 in Madrid.Here he painted cartoons or designs for the royal tapestry company and he began to create his first genre paintings. Genre paintings have subject matter depicting scenes from every day life. This period of artistic development allowed Goya to view human behavior closely and manipulate their depiction on his canvas. Also, during this period Goya began to synthesize neoclassical and rococo art into his own. Goya became the official court painter to Charles IV in 1789 in which was instructed to paint portraits of the royal family and royal life. Goya enjoyed his popularity and success until a serious illness left him permanently deaf in 1792. His deafness caused a drastic change in his art as Goya began to depict fantasies, satirical symbols, and violent caricatures. In 1799 he published Caprichos, a series of etchings, to satirize human weakness. Goya served as director at the Royal Academy of Spain from 1795 to 1797. During the Napoleonic invasion and Spanish war for independence Goya expressed his pacifism and disgust for war in The Disasters of War. In Saturn Devouring One of His Sons he presses his fascination in the morbid and supernatural. One of Goya's last publications of his works was in 1816 when he submitted his etchings on bullfighting called the Tauromaquia. This work illustrated the glory of Spain's history and bullfighting in a series of etchings. Goya lived in seclusion from 1819 to 1824 in a house located in the outskirts of Madrid.


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