As he approached the age of fifty, an illness left him deaf and afterward his painting and prints became progressively took on a bleaker and more pessimistic tone. Worth noting, the onset of his deafness was close in time to the French Revolution and its excesses which may have bent the trajectory of his disposition.
While many of his paintings were commissioned by influential people (and those paid the bills), Goya also created paintings and prints that chronicled significant events of the times...
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| Civilian women resisting soldiers |
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The full epigraph for Capricho No. 43 reads; "Fantasy abandoned by reason produces impossible monsters: united with her [reason], she [fantasy] is the mother of the arts and the origin of their marvels." |
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| And the masterpiece!!!! (An attempt at humor) |
You aren't wrong with the last photo! Capricho No. 43 omitted "the absurd" when explaining the "arts and their marvels".
ReplyDeleteirontomflint
ERJ, I for one appreciate the joke!
ReplyDeleteThanks, as always, for keeping the tradition alive. Goya has never an artist I have particularly sought out. I do appreciate you adding some of his additional works.