Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746–1828). Cat Fight (1786–1788).

magination abandoned by reason produces impossible monsters; united with her, she is the mother of the arts, " wrote Goya in the subtitle of his etching The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters. Imagination, its origins and its limits, fascinated Goya and permeated his work, outweighing tradition and ranking him " first of the moderns. " Fantasy and invention marked the course of a career during which he revolutionized tapestry design, excelled in portraiture, and along with Dürer, Rembrandt, and Whistler, became one of the greatest graphic artists of all time (1). Goya was born in the village of Fuendetodos near Zaragoza, in northern Spain, the son of an altar gilder. At 14, he was apprenticed to a local painter and then traveled to Italy, where he learned the decorative manner of rococo. Early in his career, as designer for the royal factory in Madrid, he turned his keen observations of human behavior into innovative tapestry designs depicting scenes of everyday life. He also favored bold new techniques in oil, fresco, and drawing. Influenced by neoclassicism and the works of Velázquez, he moved away from the Baroque toward a realistic portrayal of his time, which he enriched with incisive satire, fantastic visions, and his own interpretation of human nature (2). Goya was an enigmatic figure. The painter of three generations of kings, he mastered charm and diplomacy, was linked to power, and achieved popular success. Yet, he remained an outsider, often at odds with the court, the monarchy, and the church. His royal portraits were filled with candor and honesty to the point of caricature, his religious subjects were ambiguous and marked by earthy realism , and his women in the flesh caught the attention of the Spanish Inquisition. Many of his original prints, which influenced such masters as Delacroix, Manet, and Picasso, were not seen until after his death because they were deemed too critical of the political and religious order of his day. Sweeping life changes over Goya's 60-year artistic career are reflected in his work, whose pioneering emotional content influenced the course of 19th and 20th century art. The Spain in which he had been successful without rival in his early years disappeared during the Napoleonic wars. Seven of his children died before reaching adulthood. And serious illness, compounded by his wife's death and other adversities, left him weak, disillusioned , and destitute near the end of his …