The Spanish artist Francisco de Goya (1746–1828), one of the great court painters, moved among royal circles before ending up in Bordeaux, a deaf recluse dissatisfied with his country’s politics. The turning point came in 1793, when an illness left Goya deaf. The artist became withdrawn and taciturn, creating wild paintings on his walls in Quinta del Sordo. The noble glow of his court work darkened, and he increasingly addressed war, death, and souls in torment. A big exhibition, this show brings viewers into the artist’s universe—a place of heaven and hell, both vividly imagined and moral. —E.C.

Goya
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Fondation Beyeler / Basel / Art
Fondation Beyeler / Basel / Art
Francisco de Goya, “Dona Maria del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva Álvarez de Toledo, XIII Duquesa de Alba,” 1795. Fundación Casa de Alba, Palacio de Liria, Madrid.
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