GOYA’S GHOSTS
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and as the first of the moderns. Goya was a court painter to the Spanish Crown and a chronicler of history. The subversive and subjective element in his art, as well as his bold handling of paint, provided a model for the work of later generations of artists, notably Manet and Picasso.
In 1783, the Count of Floridablanca, a favorite of King Carlos III, commissioned him to paint his portrait. He also became friends with Crown Prince Don Luis, and lived in his house. His circle of patrons grew to include the Duke and Duchess of Osuna, whom he painted, the King and other notable people of the kingdom.
“Fear is the basis of the whole – fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death. Fear is the
parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand-in-hand.”
– Bertrand Russell
In 1786, Goya was appointed painter to Charles III. After the death of Charles III in 1788 and revolution in France in 1789, during the reign of Charles IV, Goya reached his peak of popularity with royalty.
Black Paintings
In later life Goya bought a house, called Quinta del Sordo (“Deaf Man’s House”), and painted many unusual paintings on canvas and on the walls, including references to witchcraft and war. One of these is the famous work Saturn Devouring His Son (known informally in some circles as Devoration or Saturn Eats His Child), which displays a Greco-Roman mythological scene of the god Saturn consuming a child, possibly a reference to Spain’s ongoing civil conflicts. Moreover, the painting has been seen as “the most essential to our understanding of the human condition in modern times, just as Michelangelo‘s Sistine ceiling is essential to understanding the tenor of the 16th century”.
Hollywood will have to wait for long time to see again films of such quality,films that are condemned not to have a big commercial success but films that will remain in the history of art of cinema.The “ghosts of Goya” is taking us back to a past time showing with incredible reality the conditions of this time,and helped by a great performance of the actors,Milos Forman gives us another sample of his rare directing talent.In the question which film I like most “Amadeus” or “the ghosts of Goya” I can’t decide which is greater,Mozart’s genius of music composing,Goya’s genius of painting, some aspects of their lives under the unique look of Milos Forman.
The instruments used by the Holy Inquisition
The spirit of the Holy Inquisition and the Salem witch trials lives on in the twenty-first century!
ADRIANA SASSOON 
Adriana,
Esse arigo alem de bonito é didático, a História de Goya é muito rica e interessante.
Concordo plenamente que a industria cinematógrafica deveria dedicar um pouco mais de dinheiro e interesse a Histórias reais e enrriquecedoras como essa.
Obrigada pelo post,
Um abraço, Tulenka.
Tulenka,
Adorei o fato de voce ter tido tempo de ler e de deixar uma menssagem.
Um grande abraco.
Atenciosamente;
Adriana Sassoon