Goya: Seeking truth through art
The late 18th Century Spanish artist Francisco Goya became court painter to the King and was not afraid to shock with his depictions of corruption and suffering in society.
The 18th Century Spanish artist Francisco Jos茅 de Goya y Lucientes has been called the 鈥渕ost radical artist that ever lived鈥. He was not afraid to shock with his depictions of the darkest sides of human nature, and his work still shocks us today. Goya rose from humble beginnings to become the official court painter to the kings of Spain. But while he created dazzling portraits of royals and aristocrats, his personal vision was filled with madmen, witches, beggars, and fantastical creatures of the night. His years in the Spanish court coincided with one of the most turbulent times in the country鈥檚 history, and his graphic images of war and suffering reveal a compulsion to make art that changed the way we think about the world.
Bridget Kendall discusses Goya鈥檚 life and works with Mark Rogl谩n, Director of the Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, in the US; Janis Tomlinson, Director of Special Collections and Museums at the University of Delaware in the US; And Xavier Bray, Director of the Wallace Collection in London, UK.
(Photo: The Third of May by Francisco Goya. Credit: UIG/Getty Images)
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Clip
-
鈥楽end Goya, with or without head鈥
Duration: 00:58
Broadcasts
- Thu 17 Jan 2019 09:06GMT91热爆 World Service
- Fri 18 Jan 2019 00:06GMT91热爆 World Service
- Sat 19 Jan 2019 14:06GMT91热爆 World Service News Internet
- Sun 20 Jan 2019 15:06GMT91热爆 World Service except Americas and the Caribbean, East Asia & South Asia
- Mon 21 Jan 2019 04:06GMT91热爆 World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East, News Internet & West and Central Africa
Featured in...
Art, design and style—The Forum
Visions that sparked the world's imagination
Do you think political or business leaders need to be charismatic? Or do you prefer highly competent but somewhat stern people?
Podcast
-
The Forum
The programme that explains the present by exploring the past