On the Header Image

The Black Paintings

The power of art (or at least one thereof) lies in its ability to invoke the subconscious. The cliché that art is a mirror of society is all too frequently regurgitated, — and there is a truth to that, sure — but what is most often much more interesting is that which is revealed underneath the façade of societal critique.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the so-called Black Paintings¹ by Francisco de Goya, which the by-then-reclusive artist painted in his later years, on the walls of his Quinta del Sordo. These paintings evoke the Sublime in Goya's art, taking it further to the extreme. Goya created these striking (albeit disturbing) images during a troubled time in his life — a life marred by an unknown illness and dismay at contemporary developments, driving him to contemplate the afflictions both within and without.

The style and substance of Goya's Black Paintings reflect his own descent into disillusion and despair. The demons that he once sought to portray in the faces of his characters in paintings such as The Madhouse (1812–1819) and Yard with Lunatics (c. 1794) seemed to now inhabit his own reality as well. Even that which was once playful and vibrant² was now marked by an oppressive gloom³.

It is of a morbid, almost voyeuristic curiosity, observing something that was likely never meant to be observed. Looking at the paintings, one cannot help but sense an air of occult knowledge — a sensation which certainly isn't dispelled by the startling nature of the subject matter. If one fails to exercise caution, the unease and bewilderment may quite effortlessly transform into pure horror: such is the impact of one of the most notorious depictions of the ancient myth of Saturn Devouring His Son (c. 1820–1823).

The header image of this page is Pilgrimage to the Fountain of San Isidro (c. 1821–1823), one of a total of fourteen Black Paintings. It is an apt representation of both the Sublime and the Subconscious — beautiful and serene, with an inescapable undercurrent of dread. Like rotten teeth revealed behind a lovely smile.

¹ The paintings are commonly referred as such — the artist himself never labelled them in any way.
² See The Meadow of San Isidro (1788).
³ Compare to A Pilgrimage to San Isidro (1819–1823).