Goya: Images of Women

Francisco Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) created magnificent paintings, tapestry designs, prints and drawings over the course of his long and productive career. Women frequently appeared as the subjects of Goya's works, from his painted cartoons for the Royal Tapestry Factory to his stunning portraits of some of the most powerful women in Madrid. This text examines the representations of women within Goya's multifaceted art, and in so doing, it sheds light on the evolution of his artistic creativity as well as on the roles assumed by women in late-18th- and early-19th-century Spain. Many of Goya's most famous works are explicated. The artist's famous tapestry cartoons are included, along with the tapestries woven after them for the royal palaces of the Prado and the Escorial. Goya's infamous "Naked Maja" and "Clothed Maja" are also highlighted, with a discussion on whether these works were painted at the same time and how they might have originally hung in relation to one another. Focus is also placed on Goya's more experimental prints and drawings, in which the artist depicted women alternatively as targets of satire, of sympathy, or of admiration. There are essays which provide a historical and cultural context for Goya's work, including a discussion of the significance of fashion and dress during the period.