“It is very difficult to imitate nature, and a successful imitation is worthy of admiration. He who departs entirely from nature will surely merit high esteem since he has to put before the eyes of the public forms and pulses which have only existed previously in the darkness and confusion of an irrational mind, or one that is beset by uncontrolled passion!”
These are some of Goya’s last words which sum up his life and paintings in the film Goya: Visions of Flesh and Blood. It is more than just a film about an artist and his paintings however. It is a glimpse into the man and his life.
Francisco Goya is Spain’s most celebrated artist and considered the father of modern art. He was an innovative painter/etcher and one of the great masters of Spanish painting. He was born near Saragossa in Aragon on 30 March 1746. Goya’s formal artistic education began at the age of 14 when he was apprenticed to a local painter. In 1763 he went to Madrid and worked under another artist from Aragon, Francisco Bayeu, whose sister he married.
By 1775, he had settled in Madrid and in 1786 was appointed court painter to Charles IV. In the winter of 1792, Goya became seriously ill and was left totally deaf. This was a turning point in his career.
During the Napoleonic occupation of Spain, he saw at first hand the horrors of warfare. These inspired a series of etchings, The Disasters of War and two paintings named by date: 2 May 1808 and 3 May 1808. In around 1820, Goya began a series of frescoes on the walls of his country house near Madrid, which became known as the Black Paintings.
In 1824, political upheavals in Spain forced him to go into exile in France. He returned to Madrid for a brief visit in 1826, but died in Bordeaux on 16 April 1828.
Through well researched narration we are introduced to Goya’s portraiture which accounted for one-third of his output. My only criticism however is the narration became a little repetitious. These portraits are linked with Goya the man – self taught, disorganised, not an academic, a man of the country and the city, at home in each.
We are also introduced to Goya’s style. We become the voyeur between the artist and his sitter. In this way his portraits come “alive”. The eyes in his portraits seem to follow you. I was fascinated to learn that Goya imagined his subjects naked before painting them clothed! He was an artist that did not follow any rules for painting and his work provides something for everyone.
Goya: Visions of Flesh and Blood is more than a filmed collection of paintings. It is a celebration of the history of Spain and Goya, its most famous artist!
VIEW!
Reviewed by Barry Hill
Twitter: @kinesguy
Rating out of 10: 8
Goya: Visions of Flesh and Blood will screen on 26 March 2016 only as part of the EXHIBITION: Great Art On Screen series exclusively at the Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas
- Exhibition on Screen
- Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas
- Read our previous article about the Exhibition on Screen series of films
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