Contents
Francisco Goya
Painting The Third of May 1808 and exposing violence, superstition and power through art.
Los Caprichos · The Third of May 1808
- Born
- 30 March 1746
- Birthplace
- Fuendetodos, Spain
- Died
- 16 April 1828
More people
Francisco Goya
Spanish painter and printmaker who moved from royal portraits to unsettling images of war and human behaviour. His career bridges court art and a darker, more personal modern vision.
Early life
Aragonese beginnings
Grew up around Zaragoza and trained with the painter José Luzán.
Further study
Worked in Madrid and travelled to Italy before establishing his career in Spain.
Career
- 1770s
Royal tapestry designs
Produced lively scenes for tapestries made for royal residences.
- 1786–1799
Court advancement
Became a royal painter and eventually first court painter.
- 1810s–1820s
War and late work
Made devastating images of conflict and later settled in Bordeaux.
Selected work
Los Caprichos
Prints challenging folly, superstition and social abuses.
The Third of May 1808
An execution scene confronting the viewer with the terror of war.
Black Paintings
Dark, private images originally painted on the walls of his house.
Beyond work
Loss of hearing
A severe illness in the 1790s left him deaf.
Life in France
Moved to Bordeaux in 1824 and continued working there in his final years.
Sources & photo credit
Biography and references ↗Institutional biography and career ↗Featured work and significance ↗Photo: Vicente López Portaña. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
