Francisco Goya (Spanish, 1746–1828) was born in 1746 in the small town of Fuendetodos, Spain. He began a painting apprenticeship to José Luzán, an undistinguished painter, at the age of 14. Goya participated in art competitions in his youth and traveled to Italy to continue his studies. In 1772, he married Josefa Bayeu, whose brother, Francisco Bayeu, helped him secure a position at the royal tapestry factory where he completed his first cartoons. His career continued to advance when his first group of etchings were published in 1778 and he was elected to the Academia in 1780. Goya became known as a portraitist throughout Madrid society in the early 1780s and then became court painter in 1789. His career is marked by a significant shift in 1792 when a serious illness left him permanently deaf and his work became more focused on social commentary, including the Los Caprichos series, completed in 1799. After witnessing much violence during the Spanish War of Independence, Goya created the famous Los Desastres de la Guerra series, completed from 1810 to 1820 and published in 1863. In 1824, Goya moved to Bordeaux, France where he lived until his death in 1828.
Goya is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He is known for his paintings, drawings, etchings, and frescoes. While he was a popular portrait painter for the courts, his most famed works were produced during his growing pessimism for the corrupt monarchy, frivolous upper classes, hypocritical religious orders and futility of war. Much of his success was not realized during his lifetime as the most controversial works were not published until after his death.
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