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Overview
The life of Francisco Goya (1746–1828) coincided with an age of transformation in Spanish history that brought upheavals in the country's politics and at the court which Goya served, changes in society, the devastation of the Iberian Peninsula in the war against Napoleon, and an ensuing period of political instability. In this revelatory biography, Janis Tomlinson draws on a wide range of documents—including letters, court papers, and a sketchbook used by Goya in the early years of his career—to provide a nuanced portrait of a complex and multifaceted painter and printmaker, whose art is synonymous with compelling images of the people, events, and social revolution that defined his life and era.
Tomlinson challenges the popular image of the artist as an isolated figure obsessed with darkness and death, showing how Goya's likeability and ambition contributed to his success at court, and offering new perspectives on his youth, rich family life, extensive travels, and lifelong friendships. She explores the full breadth of his imagery—from scenes inspired by life in Madrid to visions of worlds without reason, from royal portraits to the atrocities of war. She sheds light on the artist's personal trials, including the deaths of six children and the onset of deafness in middle age, but also reconsiders the conventional interpretation of Goya's late years as a period of disillusion, viewing them instead as years of liberated artistic invention, most famously in the murals on the walls of his country house, popularly known as the "black" paintings.
A monumental achievement, Goya: A Portrait of the Artist is the definitive biography of an artist whose faith in his art and his genius inspired paintings, drawings, prints, and frescoes that continue to captivate, challenge, and surprise us two centuries later.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780691234120 |
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Publisher: | Princeton University Press |
Publication date: | 06/14/2022 |
Pages: | 448 |
Sales rank: | 1,014,713 |
Product dimensions: | 5.20(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.30(d) |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Color plates follow page 180
Main and Supporting Characters ix
Acknowledgments xvii
Introduction xxi
Part I An Artist from Zaragoza
1 Early Years 3
2 First Trials 9
3 Italy 16
4 Triumphs of a Native Son 24
5 Settings for the Court of Carlos III 32
6 Of my invention" 37
7 Goya Meets Velázquez 44
8 The Zaragoza Affair 54
Part II The Path of a Court Painter
9 Floridablanca 63
10 Don Luis 72
11 "The happiest man" 81
12 "God has distinguished us" 90
13 A Coronation under Darkening Skies 97
14 Changing Times 107
15 The Best of Times, the Worst of Times 117
Part III Witness of a Silent World
16 "There are no rules in painting" 129
17 Goya and the Duchess 141
18 Dreaming, Enlightened 152
19 Subir y bajar 161
20 "The king and queen are crazy about your friend" 170
21 The French Connection 180
21 Absences 188
23 Society High and Low 198
24 A Monarchy at Twilight 205
Part IV War and Restoration
25 The Old Order Falls 213
26 In the Shadow of a New Regime 223
17 On the Home Front 236
28 The Spoils of War 244
29 Portraits of a New Order 254
Part V Triumphs of Caprice
30 Disparates 265
31 The Artist's Retreat 275
32 Farewells 282
33 Paris 288
34 Unsettled in Bordeaux 294
35 "Only my will abounds" 300
36 The Last Year 309
Epilogue: Rosario 315
Notes 321
Bibliography 359
Index 375
Image Credits 388
What People are Saying About This
"The best book on Goya, a perennially fascinating yet startlingly modern old master."—William E. Wallace, author of Michelangelo, God's Architect"Janis Tomlinson has given us an impressively comprehensive and beautifully written study of Goya's life and works. It ranks as one of the best and most detailed of the many Goya books ever written."—Anthony J. Cascardi, author of Ideologies of History in the Spanish Golden Age"In this authoritative and lucid biography, Janis Tomlinson brings her own compassionate insight into the personal paradoxes of this towering figure within a brilliant cast of supporting characters. Coming from her lifelong engagement with Goya and depth of knowledge of his tumultuous epoch, Tomlinson's book will stand as the definitive biography for our time."—Susan Grace Galassi, Curator Emerita, The Frick Collection"An outstanding biography. Tomlinson has a profound knowledge of Goya and an excellent grasp of the relevant literature, and this informs her nuanced reading of the artist's life."—Mark McDonald, author of Renaissance to Goya: Prints and Drawings from Spain"A masterful achievement. Tomlinson's biography of Goya unfolds lovingly, with flair and detail, gathering friends, mentors, and family into the story while revealing new information about the artist's works and the context in which he created them."—David T. Gies, editor of Dieciocho and The Cambridge History of Spanish Literature