Francisco Goya and the Eighteenth Century Spanish Church
| | | Francisco Goya and the Eighteenth Century Spanish Church | | |
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Following a century or more of gestation, Spain experienced a period of enlightenment in literature, art, religion, commerce, and agriculture, especially during the reign of Carlos III (1759-1788). Spain moved cautiously away from Counter-Reformation ideology and into the secular light of eighteenth-century Europe. Spain was producing liberated thinkers; innovators with new and non-traditional ideas. For the first time in history religious dogma was dangerously questioned. For example, many innovators of that time period were preoccupied with the problem of entailed estates and the economic consequences of unproductive land and property held by the church (Dowling, 1985, pp. 331, 333). Francisco de Goya touched on this issue and many more. He was one of the greatest artists of his time and his 1799 print series “Los Caprichos” expose the greed and corruption of the Church during the Spanish enlightenment. “Los Caprichos” is like a modern day newspaper comic parody of the president. Goya lampoons Spanish society through satirical commentary. Some plates illustrate Goya’s disillusionment with certain crises during the Enlightenment, while other prints portray the unambiguous position of prostitution in Spanish high society, but Goya’s main focus is that of the Church and the blind faith of its congregation (Burnham, 2008, p. 1). It is my purpose to provide examples of the issues and criticisms aimed at the Church during the Enlightenment through studying three plates from “Los Caprichos” that I believe best describe the situation between the Church and its followers: “What a Tailor Can Do!”, “They’re Hot”, and “Why Hide Them?” By creating a print series Goya was able to make many copies of “Los Caprichos” and distribute his message to a vast percentage of the public in an inexpensive way. However, the fact that “Los Caprichos” would be so readily available created
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Following a century or more of gestation, Spain experienced a period of enlightenment in literature, art, religion, commerce, and agriculture, especially during the reign of Carlos III (1759-1788). Spain moved cautiously away from Counter-Reformation ideology and into the secular light of eighteenth-century Europe. Spain was producing liberated thinkers; innovators with new and non-traditional ideas. For the first time in history religious dogma was dangerously questioned. For example, many innovators of that time period were preoccupied with the problem of entailed estates and the economic consequences of unproductive land and property held by the church (Dowling, 1985, pp. 331, 333). Francisco de Goya touched on this issue and many more. He was one of the greatest artists of his time and his 1799 print series “Los Caprichos” expose the greed and corruption of the Church during the Spanish enlightenment. “Los Caprichos” is like a modern day newspaper comic parody of the president. Goya lampoons Spanish society through satirical commentary. Some plates illustrate Goya’s disillusionment with certain crises during the Enlightenment, while other prints portray the unambiguous position of prostitution in Spanish high society, but Goya’s main focus is that of the Church and the blind faith of its congregation (Burnham, 2008, p. 1). It is my purpose to provide examples of the issues and criticisms aimed at the Church during the Enlightenment through studying three plates from “Los Caprichos” that I believe best describe the situation between the Church and its followers: “What a Tailor Can Do!”, “They’re Hot”, and “Why Hide Them?” By creating a print series Goya was able to make many copies of “Los Caprichos” and distribute his message to a vast percentage of the public in an inexpensive way. However, the fact that “Los Caprichos” would be so readily available created
References: Burnham, A. (2008). Religous Satire in 18th Century Spain: Francisco Goya 's Los Caprichos. Corncordia Undergraduate Journal of Art History , 1-4. Dowling, J. (1985). The Crisis of the Spanish Enlightenment: Capricho 43 and Goya 's Second Portrait of Jovellanos. American Society for Eighteenth Century Studies , 331-359. Sayre, E. A. (1974). The Changing Image: Prints by Francisco Goya. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts . Schulz, A. (2000). Satririzing the Senses: The Representation of Perception in Goya 's Los Caprichos. Art History 23.2 , 152-181. Wolf, R. (1991). Goya and the Satirical Print in Englan and on the Continent, 1730 to 1850. Boston: Boston College Museum of Art.