About one third of the works left to posterity by Francisco Goya were portraits. He was one of the most outstanding portraitists in the history of fine arts and many of his works in this genre represent formidable artistic creations and valuable documents about the world in which he lived and about the people of his times. The exhibition 'Goya: The Portraits' hosted in 2015 by the National Gallery in London has allowed art lovers to admire a vast but chosen gathering of his portraits throughout his career. Phil Grabsky did not miss the opportunity to make one of his art films from the series 'Exhibition on Screen', although this time he reserved only his role as producer, entrusting the script and direction of the documentary filmmaker David Bickerstaff.
Goya had a brilliant career that lasted over half a century of an 82-year life. He was a portraitist and later chief-portraitist of the Spanish Royal House under four different monarchs, he was director of the art academy and responsible for the royal collections. The portraits of the royal families were part of his 'service duties' while for the portraits of the nobility he received most of the money to sustain his family, his lifestyle and the freedom to create. Examining his portraits means going through his artistic career in a genre with many strict formal rules, which allows us to appreciate even more today his immense or talent, his creativity and his artistic freedom. In his individual or group portraits, we accompany Goya from the time of his youth, when he learned the book of rules of the official painting of the 18th century, by assimilating the Spanish masters who preceded him, maturing the style and releasing the forms and colors in advance of the impressionists, leading an evolution of the official style that took over the artistic imprint, the pre-expressionist anger and despair during the periods of national and personal crises, and up to the chiseled neo-academicism of the last years spent in France, in self-exile.
As usual in the films in the 'Exhibition on Screen' series, spectators enjoy an intellectual and visual delight. The comments of the exhibition curators, of art historians and of the experts in Goya's life and work bring valuable information and unique insights. The filmed works of art, especially those closely examined, offer details that escape even the eyes of visitors at the exhibition or in museums. Bringing Goya's portraits together in 2015 was an event in art history, which was made accessible too many through the documentary 'Goya: Visions of Flesh and Blood' and will remain available for revisions and revisiting many years from now.
