The Self-Portraits of Francisco Goya
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,History & Criticism
The Self-Portraits of Francisco Goya Details
Book Description With his numerous self-portraits, Francisco Goya was alone among visual artists of the Romantic period in responding to the genre of autobiography. In this interdisciplinary study, John J. Ciofalo examines much of Goya's oeuvre through the lens of self-portraiture, offering new interpretations of some of his most famous works. Read more
Reviews
Literally, from the front to the back cover, The Self-Portraits of Francisco Goya, by John J. Ciofalo is a book to savor, to ponder, and to read. In five chapters, the author takes us on a fascinating journey from the 1770's through the courts and royalty of Spain, the French Revolution and Napoleon, past the dreams of reason, visions of death and destruction, to the realms of sex and violence, dark mythology and haunting memories. Goya is a book to savor- to enjoy its stunning color plates and black and white figures and to delight in its clarity of word and phrase. It is a book to ponder- to muse at its view of nobility and the Church and to consider its landscape of war and human cruelty. It is foremost a book to read- to wonder at the artist's scope of interests and subjects and to marvel at his aspirations, "no less than to...replace the prevailing status of artist as copyist, as craftsperson, as royal servant, with a status more hallowed, more elite, more reflective of his own beliefs on the nature of creativity and genius. A status, that is, something like nobility. This was an extremely radical idea for a Spaniard of that time. It was an agenda, as it turned out, for revolution." With penetrating insight and a sprinkling of humor, John J. Ciofalo has made the life and times of Goya, one of the most enigmatic, controversial, and misunderstood artists of any era, accessible to all readers, regardless of art or historical background knowledge. This is a book that speaks intelligently and frankly to our humanity. It is simultaneously shocking and delightful as it weaves a tapestry of human savagery and nobility from the common thread of self-portraiture. I enthusiastically recommend The Self-Portraits of Francisco Goya by John J. Ciofalo. It is well worth the journey.