Francisco Goya, The Great Hispanic Heritage

by Tim McNeese

  May composition is a black-haired, mustachioed man who

  sportsthickblacksideburns,sothefocalpointofhis Third

  of May paintingisasimilarindividual.Couldhebethesame

  maninbothpaintings?IsthemurdererofMamelukesnow

  theagonizedvictimofaFrenchfiringsquad?Itisanintrigu-

  ingquestion,buttheanswerisunknown.

  Regardless,the Third of Maypresentsadisturbingimage

  ofanguishasSpanishmenarelinedupandshot.Thepaint-

  ing has a modern look and feel, with its impressionistic

  brushstrokes and its heavy reliance on violence and emo-

  tion. It is a painting not only painted to look outdoors, as

  many studio paintings were, it appears it was painted out-

  doors.TherearetheFrench,ontheirbrutaloutdoorstage,

  as automaton soldiers, their anonymous faces turned away

  fromtheviewer,preparingtogundowntheSpanishinsur-

  gents.Allisdark,exceptforalargeboxlanternthatillumi-

  natesthesoldiers’humantargetsandbrilliantlyemphasizes

  thedark-hairedman,dressedinastarkwhitepeasantshirt

  andmutedyellowpants.

  The painting also appears modern through its subject

  matter,asifitwereajournalist’ssnapshotofaneventworth

  remembering.Thereisanimmediacyandpersonalitytothe

  painting, as if Goya had actually been there as a witness of

  Frenchretaliation.Itisallthrownintheviewer’sface,with

  a no-holds-barred realism. It is brutal and direct, with “no

  The Second of May and The Third of May 125

  rhetoric, no contrived symbolism, no traditional pictorial

  formula, no stale studio atmosphere.”110 This painting will

  cometosymbolizethenewartoftheearlynineteenthcen-

  tury, born in a world where change was demanded, where

  liberalism was bound to replace absolutism, and where the

  Enlightenmentwastobechallengedbynotanotherpolitical

  revoltbutarevolutionformedaroundfeelingsomething.It

  would be called the Romantic Rebellion—and Goya would

  beoneofitsfounders.

  10

  House of the

  Deaf Man

  The war might have been over, but Spain was in a catastrophic

  state. Spaniards, including Goya, soon understood they

  had merely changed a foreign dictator, Joseph Bonaparte,

  for a domestic one, Ferdinand VII. Ferdinand gathered

  all power around him, persecuting Spanish liberals and

  those who had been loyal to France, the afrancesados (the

  Frenchified).(SomeofGoya’smorecontroversial,political

  canvaseshadtobehiddenfromroyaleyesintheAcademyof

  San Fernando. They would remain there until Ferdinand’s

  death in 1833.) Anyone who might have aided or cooper-

  ated with the French was considered suspect. Even though

  Goya was “cleared of all suspicion of collaboration,”111

  Ferdinanddidnottrusthim.Yetheallowedthegreatpainter

  to continue to paint. It was at this time that Goya painted

  a famous work, Portrait of General Don Jose de Palafox on

  Horseback.

  126

  House of the Deaf Man 127

  tHe aGiNG artist

  AlthoughGoyawasapproaching70years,hehadlostnoneof

  hissparkforlifeanditspossibilities.Aself-portrait,paintedin

  1815,revealsaGoyawhoisstillvibrant,feisty,andpainting

  asboldlyasever.After1815,hewaspaintingfewerandfewer

  works in the Spanish court, just an occasional portrait. He

  paintedeverythingbychoice,includingaseriesofbullfighting

  pictures. He seemed untouchable, as if no one could change

  orcontrolhim.By1816,hisetchings, The Caprices,wereput

  backonsaletothepublic. Goyahadworkedlongenoughasa

  painterbythenthathefoundhimselfpaintingportraitsofthe

  childrenofearliersubjects,suchasthesonanddaughterofthe

  dukeandduchessofOsuna.Healsopaintedpicturesofsaints

  fortheCathedralofSeville.

  By1819,hemovedtoacountryvilla,acrosstheManzanares

  RiverfromMadrid,nearthemeadowofSanIsidro,whichhe

  hadmemorializedinpaintyearsearlier.(Thehousenextdoor

  toGoya’swasknownas,ironically,theQuintadelSordo,or

  HouseoftheDeafMan.Afterhisdeath,itwasGoya’shome

  thatwouldberememberedasthefamousQuintadelSordo.)

  Goya’shousehad22acresoffarmlandandwasasolid,pink-

  and-white brick and adobe structure. He paid 60,000 reales

  incashforthehouse.Thatsameyear,atage73,Goyabegan

  workingwithanewmeansofprinting,lithography,whichhad

  hardly existed even a generation. It was a method that Goya

  enjoyed because it was quicker and less labor intensive than

  old-styleetching.

  Along with the move came a woman and child. She was

  LeocadiaZorilladeWeiss,andlittleisknownabouther.Byall

  accounts, she was an attractive woman, perhaps in her early

  thirties.ShehadbeenpreviouslymarriedtoaGerman-Jewish

  jewelerwholivedinMadridbutfromwhomshewasdivorced.

  Their marriage had produced two sons. Dona Leocadia was

  anextremelydistant“relative”ofthewomanthatGoya’sson,

  Xavier, married. When Goya and Dona Leocadia became

  friends is not known. In 1819, her daughter, Rosario, was

  128 FRANCISCO GOyA

  fiveyearsold,andrumorsclaimedthatGoyawasherfather.

  Maybehewas,butnorealevidenceexiststoproveordisprove

  the claim. It was clear to those around Goya that “he loved

  herasifshewerehisown.”112 OfallthethingsLeocadiawas

  knownforatthetime,itwasforhersharptongue.Yethow

  much could this have mattered to the aged and otherwise

  lonelyGoya?Hewasdeaf.

  As the years passed, Spain began to put its war with the

  French behind her, yet the spirit of revolution continued to

  boilintheheartsoftheSpanish.Anewcampaignforconstitu-

  tionarosewithafervor,forcingFerdinandtobringbackthe

  1812constitutionhehaddestroyedonlyfiveyearsearlier.This

  liberalchangegreatlylimitedtheSpanishmonarch’spower.By

  1822,theFrenchreturnedtoSpain,thistimetosupportthe

  Spanishmonarch,notreplacehim.Bysummer1823,thearmy

  ofconstitutionalsupportershadbeendefeated,andFerdinand

  onceagainruledwithanironfist,takingouthisrevengeonall

  whohadchallengedorbetrayedhim.

  As for Goya, the previous years of conflict, political

  intrigues, invasion, war, civil war, rebellion, and liberalism

  werefinallybeginningtotaketheirtollonhim.For30years,

  dating back to the French Revolution, he had seen tragedy

  and suffering, the triumph of dictatorship, and the crushing

  ofliberalism.Hewaslosinghisfaithinhuma
nity.Hecameto

  believethatmanwasinherentlyevilanddestructiveandthat

  life was absurd and everything was folly. Wanting to protest

  against the failures of his world, the painter was driven to

  create a series of works so morbid, depressing, faithless, and

  existential,theywouldcometobeknownas pinturas negras,

  “theblackpaintings.”

  tHe BLaCK paiNtiNGs

  AfrustratedanddisenchantedGoyapaintedthesedarkworks

  on the walls of his farmhouse outside Madrid between 1820

  and1823.Theyreveal,perhapsmorethananyotherworkshe

  ever produced, the artist’s detachment and disappointment

  House of the Deaf Man 129

  The uncertain symbolism of Goya’s “black paintings” is apparent in his bizarre work,

  Fantastic Vision. It is unclear who the two flying people are, or more importantly, what they represent. What is the rider pointing to, and at what is the red-cloaked figure looking back at? Perhaps only Goya himself knew the answers to such questions.

  with the ways of the modern world. He painted them only

  for himself, with no intentions of showing them to anyone.

  Obviously, by not producing them on canvas or as etchings

  but rather on the walls of his home reveals that he “never

  expectedhispaintingstobedisplayedinpublic.”113 Theywere

  his ownprivatehell.

  Yet the works would not remain private. The two-story

  house had a large rectangular room on each floor, measur-

  ingroughly14(4.3m)feetby26feet(7.9m),alongwithtwo

  additional, smaller rooms. Goya would produce his “black

  paintings” in the larger room on each floor. They were still

  onthewallsofhishomeduringthelate1860s,40yearsafter

  hisdeath.By1873,thehousewaspurchasedbyabaronwho

  removed the paintings and placed them on canvas. Later,

  theyweredisplayedpubliclyforthefirsttimeinParisatthe

  130 FRANCISCO GOyA

  UniversalExpositionof1878.In1881,theirownerdelivered

  the works to the Spanish government, and they were soon

  installed in the Prado Museum where they remain today. It

  was at the Universal Exposition that several late nineteenth-

  century impressionists viewed them and thought them the

  works of a man ahead of his time. Many, however, thought

  themlittlemorethantheworkofanabsolutemadman.

  Thesubjectsofthe“blackpaintings”wereoftenshrouded

  in symbolism and mystery. Others were direct and disturb-

  ing. Fantastic Vision has been interpreted as a magical scene

  depictingtwopeopleflyingofftowardalargerockdominated

  byacastleandvillage.Yetthestrangepaintingmayhavebeen

  asymbolofruinedlivesofmanySpanishliberalsfollowingthe

  return of Ferdinand to power. These political outcasts often

  fledtoGibraltar,the“rock”inthepainting,toavoidpersecu-

  tion. Another work, Fight with Cudgels focuses on two male

  giants thrashing at one another while standing knee-deep in

  a dimly lit wheat field. Some have interpreted the work as

  depictingAdamandEve’seldestsons,CainandAbel.Others

  viewitasametaphorofthecivilwarinSpainthathadrecently

  rackedGoya’shomeland.

  Thenthereisthepictureofthebiblicalfigure, Judith,who,

  according to the Old Testament, seduced and then killed an

  enemy general by cutting off his head. The painting is com-

  prisedwithshadesofthicklypaintedgraysandchalkywhites,

  thedim-facedJudithraisingherweapontothesky,preparing

  tostrikeadeathblow.Itissimilartotwentieth-centuryworks

  createdbyPabloPicasso,revealingthatGoyawasproducing

  art beyond his own time. Other works were more macabre

  anddarkandcertainlywouldhavelandedGoyaintroubleif

  knowntothepublic.Onesuchpaintingwouldlaterbetitled

  (Goya did not title any of these dark works) The Witches’

  Sabbath.Itisahorrific,phantasmagoricwork,withthedark

  silhouetteofadevilishgoatfiguredominatingthecenterofthe

  painting while surrounded by the ghastly shapes of witches.

  House of the Deaf Man 131

  YetitisnotthegoatthatGoyameansasthefocusofthework:

  itisinsteadlikelyheintendedthattobethefrighteningfaces

  ofthewitchesthemselves.Again,thisisaworkproducedby

  broadimpressionisticbrushstrokes.

  On the wall opposite The Witches’ Sabbath was a work

  knowntodayas Pilgrimage of St. Isidore.Despiteitsreligious

  title,thepaintingdepictshorrible-lookingpeople,perhapspil-

  grims,whoaremovingacrossadark,starklandscape,stacked

  upon one another. Once again, the faces of the pilgrims tell

  thestoryGoyaintended:thattheemotionalismofthemasses

  isbrutal,shortsighted,anddestructive.Ithasnoconnectionto

  theindividualwillortherationalthoughtoftheintrospective.

  Allischaosandmindlessfolly.

  Yet for all the ghastly scenes found amid Goya’s “black

  paintings,”themostlurid,disquieting,andbrutallycharged

  is Saturn Devouring a Son. The painting drew the anger of

  Englishartistandcritic,P.G.Hamerton,whowasdrivenby

  rage to write: “Of all these things the most horrible is the

  Saturn.Heisdevouringoneofhischildrenwiththevoracity

  of a famished wolf, and not a detail of the disgusting feast

  is spared you. The figure is a real inspiration, as original

  as it is terrific, and not a cold product of mere calculating

  design.”114 The subject matter of the grotesque painting,

  whichshowsawild-eyed,long-haired,nakedmalefigureeat-

  ingthebloodiedbodyofoneofhisyoung(theheadandright

  arm have already been eaten off and Saturn is tearing with

  his teeth at the left arm) was one from Roman mythology.

  The Roman god Saturn, who wanted to reign without fear

  andchallenge,madecertainofhisfuturepowerbydevour-

  ing his own children. The work is so straight-forward and

  unblinking,itdisgustsandspellbindsatthesametime.The

  “son”inthepaintingissmall,almostdoll-like,forthebody

  isnotachild’sbutadiminutiveversionofanadult’sform.

  That form is not of a male, however, but “a fragile female

  body.”115 Here,inthispainting,theviewergainsaninsight

  into“Goya’sowndemoniacalinnerworld.”116

  132 FRANCISCO GOyA

  Goya’s The Milkmaid of Bordeaux, painted when the master was 81 years

  old, marks the end of the artist’s brilliant, innovative, and passionate

  career. Even in failed health, Goya’s sketchy brushwork and light tones

  create a new direction in the world of art. Many critics credit Milkmaid as

  being a precursor to the French impressionism that began in the 1860s.

  a NeW HOme iN BOrDe
aUX

  By1823,anelderly,tiredGoyamadeanimportantdecision.

  ConcernedabouthisownsafetyintheSpanishcourtandin

  Spainingeneral,hehandedhisHouseoftheDeafManover

  House of the Deaf Man 133

  tohis17-year-oldgrandson,Mariano,andmadepreparations

  to leave his homeland. By spring the following year, Goya

  requestedpermissionfromthecourttogotoFrance,claiming

  heneededtotakeinthehotspringsatPlombières,insouthern

  France, for his health, “as his doctors have advised him.”117

  The king granted permission almost immediately. Yet Goya

  never went to Plombières. He went to Bordeaux, which he

  reachedonJune24.Bordeauxhadbecomeacityofexilefor

  severalofGoya’sfriendsduringthepreviousdecadesofwar,

  invasion, and political intrigue, including Godoy’s former

  wife,theduchessofChinchon;PepitaTudo,hisnaked maja;

  andthedukesofSanFernandoandSanCarlos.

  In Bordeaux, he was received into the house of an old

  friend, Leandro Moratin, a poet and playwright, who noted

  that Goya appeared to him, “deaf, old, feeble, weak, not

  knowingawordofFrench,butsohappyandeagertoseethe

  world.”118 ThatGoyawastiredisclear.Hewasamanofthe

  world,aworldthathadseenmuchchaos,violence,andblood.

  The elderly Spaniard was seeking shelter from the storms of

  lifeaswellas“releasefromconcernwiththeworldofpolitical

  andsocialintrigue,releasefromthedemandsofpatronsand

  theimportuningsofacquaintances.”119

  YetGoyadidnotremaininBordeauxlong.Withindays

  ofhisarrival,hewasofftoParis,wherehearrivedonJune

  20,1824.Thegreatpainterhadbecomeatouristinaforeign

  land. There is no record of Goya’s reactions to the French

  capital, but he did find the time to paint another bullfight

  picture and a pair of portraits of another friend, Joaquin

  MariaFerrer,andhiswife.Healsocompletedastraightfor-

  wardself-portraitwithpenandinkinwhichtheartistwears

  asimplecapandcoat,appearingaslittlemorethanaweary

  traveler.Alightseemstohavegoneout.

  GoyareturnedtoBordeauxbySeptemberandsoonsettled