by Tim McNeese
religious works that depict the essential nature and character of Spanish
Catholicism. He is there, as well, painting Spanish life embodied in the
common people, including everyone from a matador to a maja to a free-
dom fighter.
Goya is always best defined, not as a modern painter, but as a
Spanish painter, one who takes patriotic pride in his homeland, his people, and life as it was in his own time on the Iberian Peninsula. Goya
was, after all, “a [Spanish] provincial at heart.”†
* Quoted in richard schickel, The World of Goya, 1746–1828 (new York: Time-Life Books, 1968), 7.
** ibid.
*** Quoted in evan s. connell, Francisco Goya: Life and Times (new York: counterpoint publishers, 2004), 102.
† schickel, 37.
42
FRANCISCO GOyA
(continued from page 39)
scenes and four smaller works, each depicting a saint. The
subjectmatterforthelargerpaintingswasmerelytakenfrom
alreadyexistingFrenchandItalianengravings,soGoya’sorigi-
nalitywasfairlylimited.Itwasinhisfoursaintpicturesthat
the Aragonese artist revealed “a certain joyousness of spirit
andtechniquebutlittleelseofastrikingnature.”33Hisworks
wereacceptedbyhispatrons,thecommissionwasasuccess,
andGoya’sreputationwasimmediatelyspreadfurther.
ByOctober1771,officialsonthebuildingcommitteefor
Saragossa’s second cathedral, the Church of La Virgen del
Pilar,theShrineofOurLadyofthePillar,approachedGoya
aboutanewcommission.Constructiononthecathedralhad
begun90yearsearlier.Ithadbeenbuilttoreplaceasmallholy
shrine.Overthedecades,thegreatcathedralhadrisen“majes-
ticallyonthebanksoftheriverEbro,withitsmany-colored,
tileddomesreflectinginthewater.”34 Now,itwasfinallycom-
pletedtothepointwhereworkontheinteriorartanddecora-
tions were ready to begin. Goya worked quickly, producing
sketchesofhisplannedfrescotothecommitteeinonlythree
weeks. Other artists competed for the fresco, but Goya won
the commission. Perhaps his asking price, 10,000 reales less
than his closest competitor, tipped the balance in his favor.
Yet even though the committee chose Goya as the artist to
paintthefresco,theywantedtosubmithisfinalsketchtothe
RoyalAcademyofSanFernandoinMadridforaprofessional,
secondopinion.WhenGoyadeliveredhissecondsketch,how-
ever,thebuildingcommitteewassopleasedthattheydecided
nottosenditontoanyoneinMadrid.
Goya’sfrescofortheShrineofourLadyofthePillarwould
take him six months to complete. The work, The Adoration
of the Name of God, was a baroque effort in every way, as if
Tiepolo was giving him direction from the grave. There are
cloudseverywhere,thickandheavy,withagreatangelicchoir
ofmostlyyoungfemalefigures.Abovethemandtheircloud
cushionshangsatriangle,shimmeringgold,andenvelopedin
brightlight.Thetriangle,asymboloftheTrinity,isinscribed
Marriage and Career
43
withHebrewwordsthatmean“theNameofGod.”Thework
wasimmediatelypopularwiththechurchgoingpublic,helping
tosolidifyGoya’sprovincialcareerastheleadingartistinall
ofAragon.
BeCOmiNG a sUCCess
NotonlywouldGoyabecomethemostfamouspainterinthe
townofhisadolescence,hewouldbeginmakingmoneyforthe
firsttimeinhislife.Accordingtothecitytaxrolls,by1775,
tHe UNKNOWN WiFe OF
FraNCisCO GOYa
Art historians and Goya biographers today know little about
Josefa Bayeu Goya. Regardless of the motivations of their mar-
riage, Goya and Josefa remained husband and wife for 39 years
until she died in 1812. They would have several children through
those years, although the exact number is not known. What is
known is that only one survived his early years to become an
adult. It appears that Josefa was not directly involved in her
husband’s art work or that she had any interest in that important
aspect of his life at all. Her only contribution to his art was that
she posed for a portrait on one occasion. In it she sits passively,
her hands folded in her lap, “a slender, thin-lipped woman with
large eyes, even features and reddish-blonde hair.”* The portrait
was not painted early in their marriage but several years later
after “time and cares had etched her face with fine lines, and
there is a distance, an emptiness, in her expression.”** Josefa
was a plain wife whose life was likely so unadorned and simple
that she served to balance Goya’s excesses. She ran their house-
hold, gave birth to their children, nursed and cared for them until
all but one died, and was, at the end of the day, there when Goya
needed her to see to things and care even for him.
* Quoted in richard schickel, The World of Goya, 1746–1828 (new
York: Time-Life Books, 1968), 39.
** ibid.
44
FRANCISCO GOyA
Goya was Saragossa’s wealthiest artist. He was still painting
worksforchurches,buthewasalsopaintingportraitsofand
for some of the region’s upper class, those with money and
titles.Ashegainedinreputation,hewasalsocreatingwithhis
style.Whilehedidnotcompletelyabandonthebaroquestyle,
hewasstartingtoexperimentwithit.Thiswasmostobviousin
aseriesof11largefrescoesheproducedforthechurchofthe
CarthusianMonasteryofAulaDei.
Unfortunately, several of these paintings have not weath-
eredwellovertheyears.Themonastery,locatedabout10miles
(16 kilometers) outside Saragossa, was being refurbished
during the 1770s. By 1774, a scaffolding was erected for his
work,andGoyahadbegunthecommission.Hepaintedthese
works in oils applied directly to the walls. Unfortunately,
they have been damaged by humidity and by the ravages of
theNapoleonicconflictsoftheearlynineteenthcentury.The
churchfellfurtherintodisrepairanddisuseafter1836whenit
wasnolongerusedaschurchproperty.Fourofthe11paint-
ingshavebeenlostduetodamage.Nevertheless,theseworks
mark the end of Goya’s days as an artist in Saragossa. Gone
aretheimagesofbaroqueartists—includinganearlierGoya
himself—ofbillowyclouds,cherubs,andheavenlychoirsthat
hepaintedin Adoration of the Name of God.
Oneofthe11paintings, Betrothal of the Virgin,isagood
exampleofhisnewexperimentationwiththeoldbaroque.To
begin,thosepopulatingthelargecanvashavecomedownto
Earth. They stand on various parallels of four marble steps,
each having the clothing, posture, and bearing of biblical
characters.JosephandMaryarewonderfullyclothed,yetnot
too dramatically, i
n the heavy drapes of robes and tunics.
Everyone is wrapped in similar garments, and each is given
depththroughthevariousfoldsandtrains.Althoughthebil-
lowycloudsaregone,thenewbillowslieintheclothesthem-
selves.Agreatoverheaddraperytowersabovethesceneofholy
marriage.Itbarelypassesasabaroqueworkatallbecauseit
is so simple in design and composition. Simple, unadorned
Marriage and Career
45
Josefa Bayeu was the sister of Spanish painter Francisco Bayeu, an associ-
ate of Goya’s. Goya married Josefa in 1773, and they remained together
until her death in 1812. Goya painted this portrait of his wife between
1795 and 1796.
46
FRANCISCO GOyA
humanityiseverywhereandnotacherubinsight.Here,wesee
arestrainedartistatwork—andonewhoisinventinghimself
witheachbrushstroke.
BaCK tO maDriD
Inthespringof1773,GoyaleftSaragossaandmadehisway
to Madrid. His personal life was taking precedence over his
professionallife.HehaddecidedtomarryJosefa,thesisterof
FranciscoBayeu.Hehadpostponedmarriageforseveralyears,
butwithhisartisticreputationontherise,awifewouldhelp
himevenfurther.Hehadalsoarrivedatthatpointinhislife
whenhethoughthecouldaffordawifeand,perhaps,afamily
tofollow.WhetherhewaspassionatelyinlovewithJosefais
notcertain.CynicshaveimpliedthatGoyaonlychoseherto
tiehimselfdirectlywiththeBayeulegacy.Inanycase,thewed-
dingtookplaceonJuly25,1773.BybecomingGoya’sbride,
Josefabeganalifethatincluded“thedenseshadowinwhich
shewasdestinedtolivebythesideofherhusband.”35
TheearlydaysofGoyaandJosefa’smarriagewerespentin
Saragossa.Yetthecouplewasnottoremainthereforlong.He
tookuphisworkontheAulaDeipaintings,butothervoices
werecallingtohim.Towardtheendof1774,Goyawassum-
monedbacktoMadrid.Itseemsthathisearlierartisticconnec-
tionswerebeginningtopayoff.Mengshadjustbeenassigned
bytheSpanishcrowntoredirecttheRoyalTapestryFactoryof
SantaBarbarainMadrid.HeselectedFranciscoBayeuashis
number two man, to handle the artistic assignments for the
tapestry manufactory’s patrons. Bayeu selected his brother,
Ramon,andGoyaastwoartistswhowouldreceivecommis-
sions to create the artistic sketches on which royal tapestries
could be designed and woven. It would be steady work that
paidwell.Goyareadilyacceptedtheoffer.Suchanimportant
position in Madrid could open many future doors. Of this,
Goyawaskeenlyaware.
4
Tapestries
of Life
When Goya and Josefa left Saragossa, the Aragonese painter
was29yearsoldandeagertotakehisarttoitsnextlevel.Since
hewaslastinMadrid,hehadlearnedmuchabouthimselfand
hiswork.NotonlywasGoyadifferent,butMadriditselfwas
not the same as it had been in earlier years. The capital city
wasinthethroesofmodernization,tryingtoputsomeaspects
ofitspastbehindandtakinganewviewoftheworld,aview
centeredintheFrenchphilosophy,theEnlightenment.
aN eNLiGHteNeD VieW
The Enlightenment represented a humanist viewpoint that
gavelesssignificancetoGodandtotheChristianreligion.This
viewrecasttheDeityastheCreatorandtheSupremeBeing,
givinghimcreditforbringingtheuniverseintoexistence,as
aclockmakerbuildsaclock,butthenplacingitonthemantel
47
48
FRANCISCO GOyA
andwalkingawayfromit—leavingittorunaccordingtothe
laws of physics, God’s laws, with no additional intervention
from the One who made it. Enlightened individuals relied
onscientificthoughtandreasonfortheiranswers,emphasiz-
ingthenaturalworld,whileplayingdown,orevenrejecting,
muchthatmightbeconsideredsupernatural.Enlightenment
advocatesmightreadtheBible,butonlyformoraldirection,
while refusing to take seriously any emphasis given to the
miraculous. Such a viewpoint and philosophy of the world
wouldprovetobearadicaldepartureforCatholicSpaniards
whohadalwaysplacedtheirreligionandtheirfaithatthecen-
teroftheirlives.Goyawouldcometoembracethisphilosophy
inhislife.
GOYa’s reLiGiON
A significant portion of Goya’s paintings were of religious subjects.
yet how religious was Goya himself? In upbringing, Goya was a
Catholic. During his lifetime, being a Spaniard meant one had to
have some relationship with the Roman Catholic Church. There
may not have been a more important institution in Spain than the
church, perhaps with the exception of the monarchy. Spaniards
took their religious cues from the Spanish clergy, church doctrine,
and tradition. Baptism, marriage, and even death itself were con-
trolled by the church. The fact that the pope lived in Rome and
was not a Spaniard did not matter much to Catholics in Spain.
The pope did not wield the same power as in other eras, and
Spanish bishops would have had more power than they do today.
The church in Spain, therefore, was uniquely Spanish.
Modern writers and art historians claim that Goya was a
rebellious figure, perhaps a man without religion or even an
enemy of the church. These claims may not be true. yes, Goya’s
paintings and sketches sometimes portray Spanish priests as
greedy, immoral, or drunk; abusers of power who feed “supersti-
tious rubbish to their flocks in order to dominate them.”* yet to
Tapestries of Life
49
The new Madrid was a reformed city. Many of King
Carlos III’s foreign advisors were gone. The monarch had
replaced them with true Spaniards, “men who could focus
anddirecttheforcesofreformthathadbeenstirringinhis
country for a quarter of a century.”36 These new Spanish
movers and shakers stirred up Madrid and much of the
entire country. The state’s currency system was reformed,
andanationalbank,theBancoNacionaldeSanCarlos,was
established. There were important changes in trade policy
thatendedthelongtimemonopolyheldbytwoSpanishcities
concerningNewWorldtrade.Industrywasencouraged,and
those who practiced traditional craft skills were to be con-
sideredasimportantasanypersonofnoblerank.Asecular
recognize that priests were sometimes hypocritical or morally cor-
rupt does not mean that Goya was antireligion.
Perhaps Goya’s personal faith may be seen best through
his paintings. Works that include Christ on the Cross were
not painted by a man to whom faith could not be real or real-
ized. yet to Goya, a b
lind faith in any religion, Catholic or even
the dark and unsettling black arts he became so interested
in later in life, could be equally destructive if they are part of
the chains that bind men and women to their lesser natures.
Discerning faith definitely had its place in the life of
Francisco Goya.
Goya did not rely on priests, did not attend services with reg-
ularity, and may not have even been in the custom of taking the
mass. His relationship with the Catholic Church was so individu-
alistic and unique that when he lay dying, he did not summon a
priest, did not make a final confession, or did not take his last
communion as was done by practicing Catholics.
* Quoted in robert hughes, Goya (new York: alfred a. Knopf, 2003),
156.
50
FRANCISCO GOyA
publicschoolsystemwasestablished,endingthestranglehold
thechurchhadhadovereducationforcenturies.Relatedto
that change, the state ordered 10,000 Catholic Jesuits, the
holyorderthathaddirectedthechurch’seducationsystem,
outofSpainanditscolonies.TheSpanishInquisition,which
hadterrorizedSpaniardsforcenturies,wasnotended,butits
powerswereseriouslylimited.
The world of Western Europe was changing in similar
ways. The Industrial Revolution, with its steam engines,
textilemills,andcoal-drivenindustries,hadalreadybegun
toredefinethefuture,andSpainhadnointentionofbeing
leftbehind.CarlosIIIwasresponsibleforsupporting,even
fathering, many of these changes. He was intent on tak-
ing Spain into the nineteenth century as a modern nation.
Sadly, he would not succeed ultimately. After his death in
1788,muchofthisreformingspiritevaporated.OneSpanish
writer noted the change was like “a flash of lightning illu-
minating us for one moment only, to leave us in greater
darkness.”37
WHirLWiND OF CHaNGe
TheMadridof1774to1775thatGoyareturnedto,however,
was in the midst of this whirlwind of modern change. Goya
wouldfindhimselftransportedbytheEnlightenment,andit
woulddramaticallyaffecthisapproachtohisart.Itwouldpro-