Customer Reviews

Goya

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This book is an interesting monograph of Goya, translated from German, which more or less follows a chronological pattern while studying the most important themes that appear in the Spanish master's work (church commissions, portraits, Caprichos, Disasters of War, Black Paintings self-portraits, etc). Now the big disappointment comes with the reproductions: granted, they are numerous and often accompanied by close-ups of details, but unfortunately, quantity does not always mean quality and here, the reader is often confronted with murky images, especially with the Disasters of War or the Black Paintings which sometimes sadly come out as mushy daubs, which of course they are not when admired in the surroundings of the Prado. With today's technology, the quality of the illustrations could have been greatly improved, therefore, only 3 stars...

This is a book I would really love to persuade at least a few people to read. You can probably preview it at your library if it looks interesting to you. I can't vouch for the quality of the repros in comparison to the originals or other art books, but they certainly seemed adequate to me for the task of illustrating Goya's artistic accomplishments.

This volume has been a milestone for me. Besides being my first real introduction to Goya, it is the first art book I have ever read that really succeeded in turning me on to the subject. Perhaps I haven't devoted the proper effort before, but I think the reason I'm so impressed with this book is that Werner Hofmann's textual investigation of Goya's paintings, drawings and etchings is like a virtuoso performance in which Hofmann renders to us his personal interpretation of Goya's artistic compositions.

I have the impression that Hofmann is giving us an original elucidation of these works,rather than a consensus-based version. There are 277 reproductions of Goya's work in the book, all of which Hofmann has something to say about - for some there is a very brief passing comment; for others there are quite lengthy commentaries. Unlike the polished delivery of a self-assured authority, Hofmann seems at times to struggle like an artist himself in his effort to direct light upon the depths from which Goya took his material.

For, according to Hofmann, Goya saw the world as being composed of ambiguities, in which everything contained a contradiction of itself to some degree. The time period in which he painted and etched was an era of perfect storm for generating a consciousness such as Goya's.The Church, supposed to be mankind's agent of salvation and respite from evil, had been perpetrating some of history's most heinous crimes through the Spanish Inquisition. The French Revolution, which had been expected to herald a grand new age of freedom and better living conditions for the common man, had given way to its own reign of terror and had paved the way for the rapaciousness of Napoleon and his brothers. Spain was suffering horribly from the ravages of both Inquisition and warfare between French troops, French sympathizers and insurgents.

Besides the social and political turmoil, there was still a generally oppressive and coercive outlook in the ascendancy among society's ruling elite which demanded strict and straightforward attitudes and behavior from individuals. Goya was a man with a more modern outlook who happened to be caught in this ostensibly civilized, but truly barbaric age. He realized that the monstrous events going on in society were a direct result of demonic forces in the human psyche which were directing world events from their hidden position.

Goya blew his top over all the insanity going on, but in a controlled way, through his art. He dared to be truthful, when flattery was the norm, insinuating even into royal portraits visual cues which gave away the vanity, cruelty, and even stupidity of the aristocracy. And then there were the etchings of the hideous, demonic monstrosities; hellish tortures, etc., which graphically show the extremes of human depravity.

Hofmann guides us through the different phases of Goya's development as an artist with commentary on how his evolving consciousness of the irrational nature of existence was wedded to the form his creations took. If you would like to understand more about a genius whose powers of observation allowed him to look behind the veil of consciousness, and to bring back a vision which he imparted to the world through his art, read this book. It will take some stamina and fortitude, for as you progress, it becomes more and more like a descent into some hellish nether region. But when you emerge, you will most likely say "My God! What a trip!"......................Later edit: I also highly recommend "Goya" by Robert Hughes, an exhaustive work based more on the external factors which formed the context of Goya's art; perhaps a more convincing point of view than Hofmann's, but with fewer and smaller reproductions.