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Goya’s Black Paintings:
The Darkness of the World
Gabrielle Williamson
Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Art History and Theory, School of Art and Design
Division of Art History
New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University
2023
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Gabrielle Williamson, BS
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Gerar Edizel, Thesis Advisor
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This thesis analyzes three of Goya's works from the, so-called, Black Painting series: Witches Sabbath, A Pilgrimage to San Isidro, and Pilgrimage to the Fountain of San Isidro. It attempts to explain why Goya included paranormal and religious elements in these works. He made these somewhat gloomy murals in a specific condition of solitude. Goya's life was impacted by the violent events that were occurring around him in Spain and that led him to his retreat into seclusion. In these paintings, Goya seems to pessimistically allude to a dark future generated by superstition, religion, the Inquisition, widespread beliefs about witches and witchcraft, and the horrors Napoleonic Wars.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who has helped this thesis come to completion. I would like to start by expressing my appreciation to Art History professor Dr. Gerar Edizel for their leadership and assistance during this task.
Their knowledge and opinions have been extremely helpful in determining the path of this work.
I want to extend my gratitude to Dr. Kerry Kautzman for providing me with the necessary resources needed for this project. I want to thank Dr. Hope Childers, as well, for the constant support throughout my years attending at Alfred University.
I would also like to thank my colleagues, friends, and family for their
encouragement and support. Their feedback and suggestions have been instrumental in improving the quality of this work. I appreciate Alfred University for providing the tools and facilities needed to do this study, and I would like to thank them for their support.
I really appreciate all of the tremendous assistance I have received for this project.
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Table of Contents
Introduction ... 5
Background ... 6
The Troubling World of Spain ... 9
Diving into the Black Paintings ... 16
Explanations ... 26
Conclusion... 28
List of Figures ... 29
Bibliography ... 30
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Introduction
The meaning of art and the artists’ works will remain subjective to the viewer.
Artists have experimented in many ways with their works, consequently the emerging meanings are sometimes very surprising. Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes (1746- 1828) has gone down in history as one of the most talented artists to come out of the 18th century European art world. For my thesis, I will be dissecting Goya's three paintings' that belong to the so-called Black Painting series: Witches Sabbath, A Pilgrimage to San Isidro, and Pilgrimage to the Fountain of San Isidro. I will be trying to develop the reasoning behind Goya’s use of supernatural and religious elements. He produced these disturbingly dark murals in a particular state of isolation. In these paintings, Goya appears to refer to the Inquisition, war, religious belief, superstitious belief in aspects of witches and witchcraft. Unlike his other works meant to be viewed by an audience, the Black Paintings were never meant to be publicly viewed but in the privacy of his home.
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Since he was painting for himself, they were highly personal and intimate views of how he envisioned the world. As a follower of Enlightenment thought, Goya despaired over the widespread ignorance that superstition and the abuses of the Inquisition made worse.
Also, the Peninsular War of the Napoleonic era that took place on the Iberian Peninsula, beginnning with the French invasion in 1808 and lasting until 1814, pitted the invaders against resisting Spaniards. The Spanish theater of the Napoleonic wars were destructive and shook Spain to its core including Goya who was strongly impacted by the carnage. It is obvious that the turmoil of Spain had a great deal to do with the production of the Black Paintings, between 1820 and 1823.
Background
Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes was born in 1746 in Fuendetodos, Spain. He grew up in Zaragoza with his parents along with five siblings. At school, he met Martín Zapater, with whom he shared a long-term friendship evidenced by their extensive epistolary correspondence. Goya visited Madrid for the first time in 1763 after completing an apprenticeship with the Baroque painter José Luzán Martínez (1710- 1785). He entered the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando as a student and participated in contests but was unsuccessful in receiving one of the grants that would have benefited his artistic career. In Madrid, he assisted Francisco Bayeu (1734-1795) to paint frescoes. Meanwhile, he went back to Zaragoza and focused on his first private commissions. Back in Madrid, in 1766, he entered another competition at the academy to fail once again. Then, in 1769, he decided to move to Rome, to study at the Academy of Drawing for two years. Finally, in 1771, he entered a painting into another competition at
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the Parma Academy and won second prize. When the cathedral chapter in Zaragoza decided to commission a series of murals for the ceiling of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pilar, Goya returned to Spain the same year.
In 1773, Goya married Josefa Bayeu (1747-1812) who was the sister of the painter Fransico Bayeu whom he had assisted in the past. Franciso Bayeu who had to work on a commission in Zaragoza had Goya appointed to a position producing cartoons for the Royal Tapestry in Madrid in 1775. As a result, Francisco Goya got his foot in the door of the royal court and started off a 50-year career during which he produced a large amount of works, while in and out of Madrid. By the age of forty, he had painted
religious images, popular scenes, portraits, and decorations where he made use of quick and irregular brush strokes. At court, he served four kings in a row as well as prominent members of the nobility, the church, and the bourgeoisie, all of whom contributed to the development of Spain's political, social, economic, and cultural transition throughout this prolonged era of turmoil. Goya suffered a deadly illness in 1792, which rendered him functionally deaf for the remainder of his life. In the book, Goya, Robert Hughes argued that the illness was not syphilis, as it was widely believed, and that the symptoms could instead be related to polio, meningitis, hepatitis, or Ménière’s syndrome, which is an inner infection of the ear.1 In 1795, Goya continued working and painted formal portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Alba.
Some of his famous first major etchings called The Caprichos were published in 1799 with images of superstition, prostitution, evil and greed amongst the subjects. The
1 Hughes, Robert. Goya. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006, p. 13
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Caprichos cover a variety of topics, such as the vices of the nobility, corrupt clergy, and superstitious peasants. The prints marked a considerable break from the idealized depictions of Spanish society that were prevalent in art during this period and are
renowned for their gloomy and sarcastic tone. In terms of their mood, they were different from what he had been producing until then. This series of Caprichos compared to the original Italian genre have their own strange darkness to them. Capriccios in Italy blended components from many architectural and historical eras, resulting in a fanciful and dreamlike settings. The inclusion of mythical or allegorical characters in certain capriccio paintings enhanced the fanciful quality of the compositions. Within 15 days of their publication, The Caprichos were taken off the market, and Goya was only prevented from appearing before the Inquisition by a formal order from the King of Spain, Carlos IV. For the purpose of trying to awaken the viewers’ eyes and spur them to outrage, the artist had assigned himself the responsibility of illuminating certain inconsistencies, injustices, stupidities, and cruelties of the times. The goal had been to eliminate evil through education, an effort completely in line with the goals of the Enlightenment. The lack of social justice, poor practices in child raising, the mindless elitism of aristocrats, and the abuse of religious authority were all prominent themes.
Eventually in 1780, Goya became a member and then deputy director of painting at the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid and by 1786 was named court painter.
He was considered the most voguish artist in Spain. Later, in 1795, he was appointed director of the Academy. At the peak of French repression in 1812, during the occupation of Spain, Goya’s wife passed away, but outside an accounting of the family’s possessions done at the time, there is no documentation of the artist’s response to her passing.
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At this time Spain was an absolute monarchy, its economy was in chaos, and the nation was heavily in debt. The government was unable to meet the needs of its people because of pervasive political corruption. The Napoleonic Wars and other wars that Spain was fighting at the same time put further strain on the nation's resources and morale.
During the occupation, the newly installed French king abolished the inquisition and established a constitutional monarchy. When absolutism was reinstated in Spain, Goya, the follower of enlightenment thought, was compelled to take refuge in his home, the Quinta del Sordo. There he faced the world privately. With the Black Paintings he expressed his thoughts and frustration on the walls of his home in a state of complete isolation from the outside world. These private paintings were never meant for the public eye. It is entirely conceivable that the artist himself was unaware of the depths of the inner turmoil that drove him to create the Black Paintings that are still considered
amongst the most abject depictions of human suffering. Goya created a vision for us that is both metaphorical and realistic by dissolving barriers between fantasy and objective reality.
The Troubling World of Spain
History of Spain 18th – early 19th century
Spain, at the time of Goya, was not an ideal place where to be. Religion and church-imposed dogma were of utmost importance to the population of Christians who were expected to only serve God. Artists had a key relationship with religion because the church had used images as a way of communicating the beliefs to be upheld amongst the people. During this period, the throne of Spain was occupied by the kings Felipe V
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(1700-1746), Fernando VI (1746-1759), Carlos III (1759-1788), Carlos IV (1788-1808) and Fernando VII (1808-1833).
Spain's first Bourbon monarch, Felipe V, ruled from 1700 to 1746. Significant political, economic, and social developments occurred in Spain during his reign. The War of the Spanish Succession, a period of political unrest and a crisis over the succession, occurred when Felipe V succeeded to the throne. The War of the Spanish Succession, lasted until 1713 when the Treaty of Utrecht was signed. The struggle ended with the confirmation of Felipe V as king of Spain and the ceding of a number of regions to other European countries. Felipe V introduced a number of changes during his rule that were aimed at modernizing and centralizing the Spanish state. He restructured the military, established new administrative agencies, and made an effort to advance economic growth. Along with these projects, he supported the creation of the Royal Academy of History and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. Felipe V's reforms, nevertheless, were not widely accepted, and his reign was characterized by a number of uprisings and rebellions. His actions also aided in the collapse of Spanish authority and strength throughout Europe.
The benefits of Felipe V's reforms and good fortune fell under his son Fernando VI's leadership. Fernando VI was declared king, the year Goya was born, in 1746. He was the third monarch of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty. He pursued a neutral and
progressive strategy of reforms. Fernando VI made the choice to stay clear of trouble, and he managed to do so throughout his reign. The king was dependent upon the capable marques de la Ensenada, his father’s minister, to implement the administrative and financial changes. He supported education and the arts. Goya, who benefited from these
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reforms, enrolled in the recently founded Academy and studied there in 1763. By signing a peace accord with the church in 1753, Fernando VI was able to reclaim the authority to choose bishops and levy taxes on the clergy. Fernando experienced melancholy upon the passing of his wife Maria Barbara in 1758 and did not live long after her death. They were childless, and Carlos III, his half-brother and previous king of Naples, inherited the throne.
Carlos III, who was pronounced the king of Spain in 1759, aimed to bring Spain up to date and enhance the welfare of its populace. Under his rule Spain started to gain recognition as a nation state, as opposed to a group of kingdoms and territories ruled by a single monarch. Carlos III, on occasion referred to as an "enlightened despot," is most remembered for the political and economic changes he oversaw as well as the expulsion of the Jesuits, a religious order in 1767. The Jesuits' alleged or actual participation in starting a riot in 1766, as well as their alleged wealth and corruption, was the immediate reasons for their expulsion. Due to their fame, influence, and allegiance to the Pope and the Vatican, the Jesuits had long been the target of mistrust and hostility in Spain. Carlos III agreed for the order to be thrown out as a result. Banished from Spain, the Jesuits had all of their property seized in what is known as the Pragmatic Penalty of 1767. His battle with the Jesuits and the memory of disagreements he had had with the pope while King of Naples led him to adopt a broad strategy of curtailing the Church's excessive influence.
There were fewer idling clergy members, especially in the monastic orders. Although it was left in place, the Inquisition was made ineffective. He brought 25 years of experience as the monarch of Naples to the Spanish throne. Carlos III was a supporter of royal absolutism whose primary goal was to increase the welfare of the state by internal
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reforms, imperial defense, and strict colonial rule. A succession of progressive ministers who pushed for various levels of change under an environment of absolute monarchy had an impact on Carlos's domestic and international policy.2 He carried out a number of significant changes throughout his rule, including advancements in healthcare, education, and infrastructure. By fostering trade and industry, he also promoted economic growth.
As a result of his policies, significant organizations like the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and the Bank of San Carlos were founded.
The Royal Order given by King Carlos III in September 1776, mandated that priests and spiritual leaders who criticized the Spanish throne must face punishment. The order exposed the shaky alliance between church and state and the vulnerability of the concept of the divine right to govern. A political idea known as the "Divine Right of Kings" had been used in England, France, and Spain since 16th century to defend monarchical absolutism that allowed the monarch to maintain total power without the participation of any other legislative, economic, or voting entity. In Protestant states where the king could establish himself as the foremost political and religious figure in the nation, the Divine Right of Kings was effortlessly invoked to support absolute
monarchical authority. However, in accordance with Catholic teachings, the Pope, and not the monarch, held the highest authority on Earth having been chosen by God. The church and the people's loyalty to the Pope somewhat undermined the supremacy of royal power in Spain and increased the need for defending the Divine Right of Kings. By giving this order, he was attempting to ensure that dissent would not propagate through
2 Baruque, Valdeón Julio, Joseph Pérez, and Juliá Santos Díaz. Historia De España. Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid): Espasa-Calpe, 2003, p. 214
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worship and his monarchical power stayed total. He was probably conscious that priests could contest his divine right to power and potentially turn his people against him.
On December of 1788, King Carlos III passed away. Although an absolute ruler, he was known as a charitable and philosophical monarch who exercised his power in a progressive manner. Carlos IV ascended to the throne shortly following Carlos III death.
Carlos IV experienced a variety of obstacles throughout his reign, including the effects of the French Revolution, political turmoil, and economic hardships. Carlos IV is
recognized for his attempts to modernize Spain and for his sponsorship of the arts despite these difficulties. Following the French invasion of Spain in 1808, Carlos IV was forced to abdicate the throne in favor of his son, Fernando VII, thus ending his reign. Later, Carlos IV and his family were banished to France, where Carlos IV passed away in 1819.
Ferdinand VII reigned as king of Spain after the conclusion of the Peninsular War until 1833. His reign was characterized by political instability, strife, and repression despite the fact that he was the son of Carlos IV and initially was seen as potentially a progressive leader. Spain was in upheaval under his rule as a result of the effects of the Peninsular War and the independence movements in the Spanish colonies. Ferdinand VII was criticized for having oppressive authoritarian tendencies and being paranoid toward political rivals.3 His policies were frequently viewed as being backwards. In 1814, following the end of the Peninsular War, Ferdinand VII reinstated the absolute monarchy and repealed the liberal Constitution of 1812. His centralization and repression policies
3Baruque, Valdeón Julio, Joseph Pérez, and Juliá Santos Díaz. Historia De España.
Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid): Espasa-Calpe, 2003, p.2
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resulted in the restriction of civil freedoms brought in by his predecessors and the French occupiers, and the persecution of liberals.
Spain had been embroiled in a guerilla war that pitted the Spanish population against the French who were finally ousted in 1812 with Biritish assistance. During the conflict, which was marked by violent fighting and the adoption of unorthodox strategies including guerilla warfare, both sides committed atrocities. One of the deadliest wars of the Napoleonic era, the Peninsular War had a profound effect on Spain and Portugal's political and social environment. The Spanish monarchy was temporarily toppled as a result of the conflict.
Inquisition and Witches
A strong agency inside the Catholic Church called the Inquisition was established to find and punish heresy across Europe and the Americas. The Inquisition, which lasted for centuries and started in the 15th century, is notorious for the brutality of its methods of torture, and its persecution of Muslims and Jews. The Inquisition also investigated cases of supposed witchcraft and other religious transgressions.4 The Spanish Inquisition, which ruled for more than 200 years and carried out some 32,000 killings, was the
darkest manifestation of the late medieval agency. The Inquisition continued to function in Spain and its colonies during the 18th century, yet it had far less authority and
influence than it had had in earlier decades. The methods of the Inquisition were
frequently marked by secrecy and force, and it had the authority to arrest, try, and punish suspected heretics. Many people feared its trials and consequences, and the fact that it
4Lea, Henry Charles. A History of the Inquisition of Spain: In Four Volumes. New York:
Macmillan, 1907, p. 219
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existed in Spain had a chilling impact on the freedom of expression and religion.
Enlightenment intellectuals like Goya himself and other reformers who pushed for more religious tolerance and civic liberty, however, were critics and opponents of the
Inquisition.
Spain was controlled by a Catholic monarchy at the beginning of the 19th century, and the Church had an immense impact on both the government and society. The Church in Spain was dominant and wealthy. It controlled a large portion of the educational system as well as other facets of society. The Spanish Inquisition was still in effect in some regions of the nation, and many people continued to live in fear of its authority. Bishops and other church officials held significant posts and counseled the kings on questions of state; therefore, the church also had a hand in the administration of Spain.
But there were frequent conflicts between the Church and the government, especially when it came to the Church's wealth and power and the monarch's role in choosing bishops and other church officials.
Witchcraft had spread like wildfire throughout Europe and
concentrated in Spain between the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries.5 A witch was believed to leave the Christian faith and sell her soul and body to the devil to bring upon his worship. To the witch’s eye, Satan would be a new God and would require sacrifices to his satisfaction.6 Their master would
5 Lea, Henry Charles. A History of the Inquisition of Spain: In Four Volumes. New York:
Macmillan, 1907, pp. 246-257
6 Lea, Henry Charles. A History of the Inquisition of Spain: In Four Volumes. New York:
Macmillan, 1907, pp. 246-257
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transform and appear as a goat or a man. This talk of witches and witchcraft stretched the imagination of the illiterate people and brought upon
manipulation through fear of things unknown in instances of madness in behavior. Largely, women and people of poverty were accused of ruining harvests, bringing upon illnesses, and killing infants through witchcraft. It was also believed that the devil would appear in dreams and divert the victim away from their faith in God towards worshiping the devil. It was believed that witches included women who turned into cats, sucked the blood stolen infants, and flew through the night.7 Accusations of witchcraft resulted in the torture of women for their alleged actions. Trials were carried out with
torture for extracting confessions and imposing punishments. It was
necessary to obtain confirmation of malevolent intervention upon the death of infants and children and the sickness that killed them. Infanticides and crop destructions appeared explained when someone brought up accusations of having seen the slaughter of children or rituals for damaging harvests. Once this link was established, arrests occurred and, if necessary, torture used.
Diving into the Black Paintings
The Black Paintings evidenced a side of Goya that was even more severe, imposing, and unconventional than what could be seen in his small-scale graphic work.
They consisted of fourteen paintings, revealing the darkness of Goya’s visions and of his mind. These Black Paintings, now on display at the Prado Museum in Spain, were not
7Lea, Henry Charles. A History of the Inquisition of Spain: In Four Volumes. New York:
Macmillan, 1907, pp. 246-257
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actual frescoes but rather painted with oils directly on the bare walls of the Quinta del Sordo. The paintings could be best characterized as the visual counterparts of
monologues of a person plagued by constant images of madness surrounding him. A monologue carried out in a profound deafness that the mysterious disease that had almost killed him in 1792 had left in its wake. Not intended for the public viewing, Goya painted these horrific images for his eyes only. He left no “program notes” as he had done for the Caprichos and the Disasters of War.8 Goya left no trace that could have led to of any source for explanations that would have illuminated what his mind had imagined. Goya, who had fully experienced futility, isolation, and darkness during the delusions of another sickness that befell him at the Quinta del Sordo, resisted being brought back to life from the brink of death. For the evil that the Black Paintings contain resides in the
hopelessness and utter disappointment in humanity they display. They evoke sensations of soul-torment that makes existence unpleasant and an obligation without benefit or purpose. It is important to note that the placement of Goya’s house made it so that he was able to watch the events from his own elevated property.
The three paintings from the series that will be discussed are: A Pilgrimage to San Isidro, Pilgrimage to the Fountain of San Isidro, and Witches Sabbath. They evidence a view of aspects of superstition and religion that he considered corrupting; a view that took over his ill mind.
8 Licht, Fred, and Goya y Lucientes, Francisco José de. Goya: The Origins of Modern Temper in Art. New York: Harper & Row, 1988, pp. 207
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Before its removal and placement on canvas, A Pilgrimage to San Isidro (1820- 1823) (Fig. 1) was located on the lower floor on the walls of the villa. It presents a massive landscape that stretched across the wall hues of yellow, gray, and brown
predominate and permeate the entire picture. Across the composition there are swarms of people winding through the mountainous terrain toward the viewer. The sky above them appears colorless and veiled in fog. This adds to the desolation in the arid landscape they’re stumbling through. The crowds of people stand as a central point of the overall mural in which they appear clothed in traditional attire. In the front of the group, while the facial features of some may be read as having joyful grins, their body language suggests that this may from result intoxication while the features of others suggest a range from lack of concern to horror. One of the men in the foreground strums a guitar while singing and hollering with others joining in. However, the facial grimaces of the singers suggest the emitting of unusual inhuman sounds. Goya utilizes a striking contrast of light and dark to make the painting appear to have depth. Bright, warm colors like whites, red, and fleshy paints are used to show the features of the figures in the front, while cooler, shadowy brown and black hues are used for the backdrop. The painting's depth is further enhanced by the use of an eerie perspective, which gradually makes the landscape vain and sky grim. The front group received far more paint than the backdrop because the artist applied quick, forceful brushstrokes. Shadows and gloom rule over this composition. A perspective gets formed when the light concentrates on the main group in the foreground before dissipating into the distance. Dark, earthy, brown, and black tones
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dominate the color scheme, with an unexpected dash of red.
Fig. 1: A Pilgrimage to San Isidro (1820-1823), Franciso Goya, 138.5 cm x 436 cm, Prado Museum
The overall theme of this painting of pilgrimage appears to critique un-
enlightened and prevailing beliefs. Goya's home was located in a section of Madrid not far from the retreat of San Isidro. Although the background is bleak, the country house to the right suggests that the scene was set close to a small town or city. The illustration relates to the pilgrimage that recurred in Madrid on the feast day of Saint Isidor, a subject that Goya had previously covered in his tapestry cartoon The Meadow of San Isidro (1788) (Fig. 2). A colorful, upbeat countryside was depicted in the earlier version showing gatherings of people upon the hillside and overlooking Madrid in the distance.
In the later resion, the observer is met with a somber painting that depicts a group of frightening pilgrims who don't appear to be rejoicing at all but rather look like they've been pushed into the country by dread and despair. The painting doesn't show any of the meekness or holiness that one might anticipate in such a journey. Even the musician who is singing and playing the guitar appears to be in agony. The group of people surrounding the guitar player catches our attention right away. Then a glance at the rest of the
spacious scene reveals an array of people extending out behind them and disappearing into the distance. Given that their faces are frequently covered, leaving only the
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silhouettes of hats and hoods, these figures are more difficult to make out. The overall atmosphere is depressing, even funereal.
Fig. 2: The Meadow of San Isidro (1788), Franciso Goya, 41.9 cm x 90.8 cm, Prado Museum
Pilgrimage to the Fountain of San Isidro
Pilgrimage to the Fountain of San Isidro (1820-1823) (Fig. 3) contains grays, blacks, and browns predominating in the painting's right section. The left side displays a bright sky and reveals one of the sharpest contrasts among the Black Paintings. The sky featuring blues, yellows, and whites brightens the overall composition but not its meaning. In contrast to Goya's approach mentioned in The Meadow at San Isidro, it portrays the procession of the pilgrims to the sanctuary of San Isidro. At the foot of a rocky mountain, a group of women wearing nun’s clothing appear to lead the procession.
Behind this group of eight individuals, a large group of people, mostly women, including peasants, monks, and other individuals from many walks of life, file toward the fountain that is their destination. The picture is renowned for its relatively detailed composition, vibrant colors, and emotive use of light and shadow. The elderly women in the
foreground walk along with a man sporting a mustache and goatee while holding a roll of
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paper. This male figure is dressed in 17th-century attire.
Fig. 3: Pilgrimage to the Fountain of San Isidro (1820-1823), Franciso Goya, 127 cm x 266 cm, Prado Museum
It seems that the procession was used to draw attention to theatrical elements with sarcasm. In this pilgrimage, for instance, the outdated 17th-century attire may point to the hold that an outdated worldview had on the people. Goya appears to introduce political commentary and social critique that could be considered typical of his work as
demonstrated in his Caprichos. A commentary on the complicated economic status and political reality of early 19th-century Spain may be seen, for instance, through the representation of the pilgrims as a multitude controlled by ancient beliefs. The journey leads them to a fountain that, they hope, could provide them with a cure. The way in which Goya depicts the people in the foreground cast doubt about such outcome.
Witches Sabbath
We voted that the murals were painted with oils directly on the plaster walls of La Quinta del Sordo. Soon after Goya’s death, the Baron Emile d'Erlanger bought his house
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and transferred the artworks onto canvas before donating, them to the Prado Museum.
This particular panel was one of the broadest. The painting's right-side was reduced by around 140 cm during the transfer onto canvas, down to its current dimensions: 140.5 cm x 435.7 cm. A young woman who appears seated to the right of the current composition and who may have been a central figure participating in an initiation ceremony was inadvertently repositioned to the side and somewhat marginalized. The scene reveals a multitude of human figures huddled together and facing the large and dark silhouette of a Billy goat engaged in delivering a sermon to them. The image of the goat sermoning before believers eerily recalls a priest preaching to his flock. Darker pigments of color, such as brown, gray, and black, that are heavily painted and take center stage in the composition are used by Goya to convey the dimness of the subject matter. Dabs of red and blue bring color throughout, and there are touches of gold that emphasize the witches among the throng. The backdrop is more subdued and uses brownish yellow tones to enhance the action. Undoubtedly, the big black goat was a reference to the devil appearing to witches as a ram during their Sabbaths. A group of men and women with animal-like characteristics, witches, and warlocks face the goat, who is place towards the left of the composition. They appear to have gathered to perform their Sabbath. Most of their faces appear to be wrapped and distorted with some of them portraying fear and
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Fig. 4: Witches Sabbath (1820-1823), Franciso Goya, 140.5 cm x 435.7 cm, Prado Museum Goya painted during a turbulent period in his native Spain, and his references to covens and witchcraft are thought to be a critique of the Spanish Inquisition and their Basque witch trials. The Inquisition military had tried to expel all suspected witches from the Navarre region of Spain, where there were an estimated 7,000 cases of suspected witchcraft. The painting shows a bizarre and unsettling image of witches and demonic beings congregating in a barren terrain, as if to celebrate some sinister ceremony. The enormous goat that serves as the paintings' focal point is sometimes seen as a symbol of the devil or a related demonic entity. With twisted features and horrific faces that evoke a sense of fear and panic, the characters in the paintings are highly stylized and
exaggerated. The intensity and strangeness of the scenes are increased by the use of vibrant highlights and energetic brushstrokes. Goya adopted the witches' world to criticize the deterioration of humanity. He witnessed the filth of the post-Napoleonic conditions around him as well as the ugly and gloomy aspect of the human state of affairs. Goya, who was fond of the subject of superstition, was highly critical of the prevalence of religiously driven dread left over from Medieval times. In the painting the attendees cower before the figure of the devil. The are believed to be a coven of witches
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that he has subdued. The lady who sits far to the right, away from the group, is
presumably about to be inducted into the coven. There are old and young people in the mass of people. One of them, to the devil’s right is dressed as a plain nun, signifying corruption in the church.
In his earlier works of the Caprichos, in particular the Caprichos called Ensayos (Fig. 5) and Linda Maestra (Fig. 6), Goya depicted witches and their witchcraft. In Ensayos, directly in the center of the composition appears to be another manifestation of the devil as a giant black goat with horns. Meanwhile, in Linda Maestra, Goya
demonstrates his mastery of printing by skillfully capturing the contrasts between the haggard witch's loose, drooping skin and her apprentice's solid, young appearance.
Although it appears to be another print of a witch, the phallic broom implies sexual vices, as seen in Goya's prints of old crones and young girls. These two etchings are just two quick examples of other indications where inhumane acts are performed and witnessed.
Clearly, Goya was concerned with the antiquated beliefs that continued to have a hold on the people of Spain.
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Figure 5: Ensayo “Trials” (1799), plate 60, Fransisco Goya, 20.5cm x 16.5cm, The MET
Figure 6: Linda Maestra “Pretty Teacher” (1799), Francisco Goya, 21cm x 15cm, The MET
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Explanations
Many questions have risen after the creation of these dark, twisted murals when they were retrieved from Goya’s farmhouse following his death in 1828. He had spent the last few years of his life in a complete state of isolation due to political unrest in Spain and his fear of reprisals for having been a supporter of the Enlightenment. Some believe that the paintings are an expression of Goya's personal fears and anxieties during a challenging time in his life and serve as a commentary on the superstition and insanity of witch hunts and related persecution. Goya as an artist never second guessed his work, meaning that he was very determined in what he wanted to establish in his works. Even though these paintings were never meant to be shared publicly, Goya still wanted to execute his thoughts on his walls. The idea of him directly applying the paint onto the walls helps give a perspective of how meaningful and irritating these thoughts and emotions harassing his mind were. He utilized his art to express his worldview and to represent not just his own suffering but also the suffering of those around him in Spain.
Events taking place in Spain and across the world have had a significant impact on Goya's artwork. It seems possible that Goya explored the common belief in the malevolent influence of witches in order to express his disgust in the gullibility of his fellow humans.
The themes of the Black Paintings reflect Goya's pessimistic attitude on life and his obsession with pain, death, and the darkest sides of human nature. A variety of gruesome and imaginative scenarios, such as witches' sabbaths, severed heads, and horrific monsters, are shown in the paintings. The world occurring around him influenced his thoughts on horrors of the Inquisition to the point that he conflated these horrors
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involving superstition with religious elements. Figure 1 and figure 3 both refer to the celebration of Saint Isidro, called The Feast of San Isidro, a festival celebrated in Madrid on May 15. The event held in honor of Saint Isidro, the patron saint of Madrid, who lived there in the 12th century as a farmer and laborer. Even today, many people look forward to San Isidro as a representation of perseverance and dedication because of his fame for piety and his miracles. Various activities are featured during the festival, such as
processions, parades, live music, traditional dances, and bullfighting. The trip to the San Isidro sanctuary, which is on the outskirts of Madrid, is one of the festival's highlights.
The pilgrimage entails many miles of trekking to the shrine and attending Mass for thousands of people. Why might have Goya taken this precious holiday adored by the people and turn it into something eerie and disturbing?
Witches Sabbath, probably one of the most disturbing paintings, has the devil at its center. His seclusion compounded his pessimism about the events troubling events that surrounded him and put him in a state of detachment to the point that then once an enlightened and religious man was feverishly imagining the visions behind these paintings. These images could be the true representations of how everything in world made Goya feel. Consistent and oppressive control applied by the church could have drawn him into this state and influenced his examination of the dark side of the world and religion as well. Why would Goya be thinking about the rituals performed to worship the devil? He skillfully integrated his own struggles with the societal problems that troubled him, such as displays of subservience in the form of pilgrimages and processions under the gaze of the Inquisition in the midst of civil disputes brought on by political changes.
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Perhaps he had these thoughts due to the fact of not understanding why people would continue to cling to superstition both pagan and religious.
Conclusion
Goya's greatest concern was the people’s belief in supernatural forces that had a hold on the way people understood the world. The Black Paintings contain horrific and gory depictions emerging from his melancholy mental state. In his seclusion caused by his deafness and the remoteness of his cottage, he may have been anxious about holding on to his mental capacity; an anxiety that may have grown as he grew older and more paranoid. Many people think that throughout this difficult period of solitude he watched people and the surroundings, from the safe frame of his window. At the time when he made these works, Goya wasn’t as famously well-known as he is today. He is
remembered as one of the most talented and remarkable individuals torn by the contradictory forces, he embodied in the form of Enlightenment rationalism that the mindset of the people he loved contradicted with their attachment to sets of beliefs that kept them ignorant and exploited.
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List of Figures
Figure 1: A Pilgrimage to San Isidro (1820-1823), Franciso Goya, 138.5 cm x 436 cm, Prado Museum
Figure 2: The Meadow of San Isidro (1788), Franciso Goya, 41.9 cm x 90.8 cm, Prado Museum
Figure 3: Pilgrimage to the Fountain of San Isidro (1820-1823), Franciso Goya, 127 cm x 266 cm, Prado Museum
Figure 4: Witches Sabbath (1820-1823), Franciso Goya, 140.5 cm x 435.7 cm, Prado Museum
Figure 5: Ensayo “Trials” (1799), plate 60, Fransisco Goya, 20.5cm x 16.5cm, The MET Figure 6: Linda Maestra “Pretty Teacher” (1799), Francisco Goya, 21cm x 15cm, The MET
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