Tracing Goya’s ‘dark’ journey from Spanish court painter to macabre visionary

Starting from modest origins in rural Spain, Francisco Goya (1746-1828) rose to become one of the most celebrated artists in Europe and prime court painter to the Spanish Crown. Today, however, Goya is less known for his accomplished career in Catholic Church commissions and royal portraiture than his dramatic late-in-life turn towards the dark and macabre, including a series of works known as the ‘Black Paintings’ that were never intended for public display. In this instalment of his YouTube series Great Art Explained, the UK curator, gallerist and video essayist James Payne details how a combination of geopolitical and personal struggles led Goya to the bleak outlook that birthed these intense and often disturbing images, as well as the indelible influence they’ve had on art in the centuries since his death.