Art & Ideas: Goya

Part of the Art & Ideas series.

Francisco Goya (1746-1828), son of a provincial craftsman, had, by the age of forty, inflitrated the most exclusive aristocracy in Western Europe, becoming court painter to the kings of Spain. But behind his glittering portrayals of the royal family and figures of state was another world of beggars, madmen, convicts, giants and cripples: the inhabitants of the artist's personal vision. Goya's original and haunting images convey the gamut of human experience; astonishingly innovative to his contemporaries, they remain extraordinarily compelling today.

Sarah Symmons' fascinating account places Goya within the context of his Spanish heritage, traces the immense influence of his work throughout Europe and considers the continued relevance of his art in the twentieth century. Symmons uses drawings, oil and fresco paintings, original tapestry designs and a variety of prints to convey the full range of Goya's pictorial expression. She draws on the most recent scholarship and on rediscovered works to create a comprehensive portrait of this most complex and enigmatic of artists.

Includes colour and black-and-white illustrations.