Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828), or Goya, is considered one of Spain’s most important artists of all time for many reasons: He was the official “painter to the king” (pintor del rey), renowned for his traditional portraiture; he influenced many generations of artists in the centuries that followed. And Goya also was a daring proto-modernist who skirted and pushed the boundaries of acceptable art through his private printmaking, works currently on display at the Milwaukee Art Museum’s “Daring Technique: Goya and the Art of Etching” (through Sept. 9).
The exhibit is well curated and accessible to those curious about the artist who grew dark and temperamental in his later years (his 14-work “Black Painting” series, not on display, attests to his troubled state of mind). For those who look for the connection to his influence on artists ranging from Édouard Manet to Pablo Picasso, “Daring Technique” showcases the inspiration Goya provided through his “subversive” social commentary as well as his “experimental” printmaking techniques at that time.
Given his prestigious position in the king’s court, Goya still viewed his printmaking as just as important as his paintings, creating more than 300 prints in his lifetime. Time and timing were on his side as printmaking came back into popularity in the late 18th century. This trend is reflected in the exhibit’s masterpiece cornerstone to the exhibit, La Tauromaquia.
The Milwaukee Art Museum acquired a complete edition of these 33 prints in 1983 and the middle room is fittingly painted a blood red. The subject matter? Spain’s national pastime, bullfighting in all its gory glory. Goya perfectly captures the history of the hunt and fight; we see his extensive use of aquatint, casting long shadows on man and beast and giving the viewer equal footing in the ring instead of “just being a spectator.” The effect is mesmerizing.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
In this stellar series, we see Goya play with diagonals, juxtaposed against the circular ring through the use of the matador’s spear, emphasizing the motion, keeping matador and bull on equal footing. Bullfighting was a part of the nation’s identity; its matadors the rock stars of the day. But Goya also commented on social inequality, war and corruption and we see his subversive side in the 11 etchings on display, Disparates (“The Follies”). The images were done in private and ambiguous enough to avoid political recognition and retribution. To ensure his protection, they were never printed in Goya’s lifetime. One in particular, No.4: Bobalicón (Simpleton) could easily pass for the forefather of the demonic clown, Pennywise, from Stephen King’s It. The giant, nightmarish image fills the frame, taunting the tiny human figure below as ghouls shriek in the background. The image lingers long after walking away, like it or not.
Goya provided an important step toward modernism and this exhibit reinforces that with a separate room devoted to his key influences, in particular another Spaniard, Picasso. The bullfighting references interconnect along with social and political commentaries. Picasso’s own influential work, Guernica (1937) combines both in its powerful response to the Nazis’ desultory practice bombing of the town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. And we see on display early works of Picasso: delicate, curved lines depicting Picasso at times as the bull and at others, the bullfighter.
Goya continues to influence artists of the 21st century be it the grotesque imagery in the works of Damien Hirst to Emily Lombardo’s reinterpretation of Caprichos from a queer feminist perspective. “Daring Technique” builds the bridge and connects Goya, the traditionalist and Goya the modernist to the world of today.
