Francisco Goya: The Black Paintings

Goyin ciklus Crnih slika, koje je naslikao na zidovima svoje kuće, posljedica je turbulentnog razdoblja u španjolskoj povijesti – Španjolski rat za neovisnost završio je 1814. godine, a slike su nastale u prvoj polovici dvadesetih godina 19. stoljeća. Zidne slike, koje su već u 19. stoljeću prebačene na platno, odraz su umjetnikovog pesimističnog, ogorčenog i razočaranog stava nakon rata. Poznato nam je da je Goya prije rata bio frankofil, koji je čvrsto vjerovao da će Napoleon zaustaviti rad Inkvizicije te donijeti mir i zapadnjački duh vremena. Umjesto toga, on u Španjolsku ne ulazi kao osloboditelj već kao osvajač pod čijim su terorom mnogi mučeni i ubijeni. Kroz ikonografsku analizu i interpretaciju ciklusa dolazi do izražaja Goyin prikriveni strah od vlasti ali i ljudi koji ga okružuju – vjerojatno pojačan činjenicom da je prije rata ostao gluh. Obilatim korištenjem crne boje kao da želi prikazati samoću koju je osjećao, a iz nemirnih i žestokih poteza kista proizlazi paranoja koja graniči s ludilom. Budući da nije ostalo zabilježeno je li Goya dao naslove slikama ili ne, mnoga istraživanja ciklusa su pokušala odgonetnuti što one zapravo prikazuju. Tako se za mnoge drži da imaju nekakve političke konotacije, odnosno da je Goya kroz njih izrazio ne samo svoje osobno stanje duha, već i tadašnje političko stanje u državi. Kada su ih istraživači usporedili s fotografijama koje su nastale prije prve restauracije primijetili su mnoge preinake od strane restauratora. Iako su te razlike male, mnoge od njih više nemaju onakav intenzitet kakav su imale prije.The so-called Black Paintings by Goya, which he painted on the walls of his house, are the result of a turbulent period in Spanish history – The Spanish War of Independence ended in 1814, and the paintings were made in the first half of the 1920ies. Wall paintings, which were already transferred to the canvas in the 19th century, reflect the artist's pessimistic, angry and disappointed stand after the war. We know that Goya was a Francophile before the war, who firmly believed that Napoleon would stop the work of the Inquisition and bring the peace, as well as the western spirit of the time. Instead of that, he enters Spainas a conqueror under whose terror many were tortured and killed. Through iconographic analysis and interpretation of the Black Paintings it is not only evident that Goya was afraid of authority but also the people around him– which is probably amplified by the fact that he was deaf before the war. By using richly black color it is as though he wanted to show the solitude he felt. What is more, the restless and fierce moves of the brush illustrate paranoia that borders with madness. Since there is no record whether Goya gave names to the pictures, many researchers of the Black Paintings have been trying to figure out what they actually represent. It is believed that many have some political connotations. In other words, not only did Goya express his own state of mind, but also the political situation in the country at that time. When the researchers compared the paintings with the photographs, which were taken before the first restoration, they have noticed many modifications done by the restorer. Although these differences are small, most of the paintings no longer have such intensity as they had before