Francisco Goya distinguished himself as an artist by his selection of his subject matter. If he had been born a century later he would probably have been a photojournalist. In lieu of photography he used drawings to capture the drama of his times. In order to disseminate his drawings he had to make them into etchings. Some of his etchings were in the nature of political cartoons.

The major drama of Goya's time was the French Revolution which spilled over into Spain in the form of Napoleon's invasion of Spain. Ultimately Napoleon's invasion was successful and he placed his brother Joseph on Spain's throne. This was traumatic for who might have supported socio-political elements of the French Revolution and even considered Napoleon a progressive. There was no way such Spanish liberals could accept an alien invasion which perpetuated the monarchy and the elevated an undistinguished commoner into the role of monarch.

Francisco Goya was born in 1748 in the small Spanish town of Fuendetodos in the Aragon province near Zaragoza. Goya received his early training in art in Zaragoza, a city named after Ceasar Augustus. His teacher had been trained in Naples. From Zaragoza Goya went to Madrid for further education and training in art. From Madrid he went to Rome in 1771 and them returned to Zaragoza. In 1773 he married the sister of his Madrid art teacher, the court artist Francisco Bayeu.

The first phase of Goya's art work was the frescoes commission by the Catholic Church for the cathedrals in Zaragoza. This work started in 1771 and continued over a period of ten years. During that period however he moved on to be a court artist for Madrid. From 1775 to 1792 he prepared about 60 cartoons for tapestry making. These cartoons were paintings which were to serve as guides for the weavers of tapestries.

As a court artist Goya came under the influence of the other court artists, particularly the chief artists. The Venetian artist Giovanni Tiepolo was ending his career in Madrid just about the time Goya was starting his career. Tiepolo painted in the Baroque-Roccoco style. Tiepolo died in 1790 and was replaced by the German artist Anton Raphael Mengs who painted in the Neo-Classical style.

(To be continued.)