Mapping Goya

Francisco Goya was born in 1746, in the small town of Fuendetodos, Spain. Goya worked at a wide variety of positions related to art over his lifetime. Goya started his teaching by attempting to apply for traditional art schools. Goya was first able to print chapel ceilings, and was able to both study painting in Spain and Italy. Goya eventually became a court painter, painting for the Spanish aristocracy, and the royal family. Goya was a prominent and well respected painter, and was able to capture all levels of the nobility, including the Spanish royal family, and the King and Queen. Eventually, in 1796, Goya took a vacation out of Madrid. After returning from this vacation, Goya came down with a mysterious illness. The nature of this illness is unknown, but did leave him mostly deaf for the rest of his life. After this, the Napoleionic wars started, and Goya’s position shifted rapidly. In 1808, Napoleon’s brother, Joseph was installed as king of Spain, and fighting between Spanish and French forces increased. After Napoleon was defeated, and Joseph removed, Goya fell out of favor with the absolutist monarchy that came after the Enlightened monarchy that came directly after Joseph. Since Goya was part of the Enlightenment, his views naturally clashed with those of the king. Goya eventually went into a self-imposed exile in France, living, and creating his last series, The Black Paintings, until his death in 1828.  

Goya used the techniques of etching prominently in his prints. Etching was Goya’s primary method of printmaking, and he used all of the techniques and features of etching to its full effect. Etching is an intaglio (engraving) process, where metal is incised into using acid to form lines that will print. Plates are normally made of copper, iron or zinc. The plate is first buffed down to remove any scrapes or imperfections. The surface of the plate is then covered with a wax film that resists acid, called the ground. An etching needle is then used to scratch away the ground, and reveal the metal underneath. The plate is then exposed to an acid bath, or acid is poured over it. The acid eats away at the exposed metal, which creates the design of the print. The longer the plate is left in the acid bath, the deeper color will be printed. After the plate is processed fully, the printmaker removes the ground. After the ground is removed, the printmaker can remove the ground and roll up the plate with ink. The inked-up plate is then run through a printing press. Goya also used the technique of aquatint in his etchings. Aquatint is a process that allows the creation of different tonal values. The appearance of aquatint is similar to that of an ink wash or watercolor. Goya is well known for his aquatints, which appear throughout most of his series. The technique can be used to create a wide variety of tonal values. The process itself involves using acid to bite a network of lines around the grains. Goya also uses drypoint in his etchings. Drypoint is an etching technique that involves creating sharp lines with fuzzy edges. A hard etching needle is used to incise lines directly into the plate. This displaces the metal that then sticks to the sides of the newly carved lines. This displaced metal is called the burr, and when inked up, the ink adheres to both the carved line, and the burr. The plate is then run through the press, just like any other print.     

Los Desastres de la Guerra is one of Goya’s prominent series. The print series was created from roughly 1810-1820, and then published after Goya died in 1863. While there are a variety of reasons that Goya may have chosen not to publish the series until after his death, one of them is that Goya could have gotten in hot water with the Spanish government for printing the series. During this time, after Napoleon’s brother’s rule of Spain ended, the Spanish created a liberal Spanish government. Later, the absolutist King Ferdinand came into power and reinstated a much more absolutist government. The series focuses on war, specifically the Napoleonic Wars that were fought between France and Spain from roughly 1803-1815. These wars directly involved Goya, as he was hired by various sides to chronicle the war. Out of this war, and Goya’s experience with it, he created Desastres. Desastres is said to be one of the first series that truly approaches the reality of war. Other artworks before Desastres focused on the valor and glory of war. Instead, Desastres is a monument to the violence and horror of war. Many of the prints show a violent, horrific side to war, one that is rarely seen in artwork. Goya chooses to portray the scenes of war in strong, evocative terms. The prints of Desastres are generally characterized as war scenes, famine scenes, and allegorical caprichos style prints. There is a distinct stylistic break between Desastres’ earlier and later prints. This could be indicative of a break in the creation of Desastres. Some of the later prints from Desastres could have been made after Goya’s next chronological series, La Tauromaquia. Desastres was chosen for Mapping Goya, as it is one of Goya’s most prominent series. Desastres is one of the most evocative series Goya has produced. It’s prints are far reaching, have a distinct style, and have been spread around the world.