Old Man Goya

by Julia Blackburn

Paperback, 2003

Status

Available

Call number

760.092

Genres

Publication

Vintage (2003), 256 pages

Description

"In 1792, when he was forty-seven, the Spanish painter Francisco de Goya contracted a serious illness which left him stone deaf. In this extraordinary book Julia Blackburn follows Goya through the remaining thirty-five years of his life. It was a time of political turmoil, of war, violence and confusion, and Goya transformed what he saw happening in the world around him into his visionary paintings, drawings and etchings. These were also years of tenderness for Goya, of intimate relationships with the Duchess of Alba and with Leocadia, his mistress, who was with him to the end." "Julia Blackburn writes of the elderly painter with the intimacy of an old friend, seeing through his eyes and sharing the silence in his head. Goya never stopped working, producing paintings 'between two cigarettes', and Blackburn captures his ferocious energy, his passion and his genius."--Jacket.… (more)

Media reviews

New York Times

The results are sometimes extraordinary and sometimes, for a variety of reasons, less successful . . . What she has written is less a biography than a journey, partly external and partly internal.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Brasidas

What Julia Blackburn does so well here is to take the later life of the Spanish artist Goya and place in the context of his times. Though he left letters, very little is known of Goya's day to day existence. But Blackburn can adroitly dance around this deficiency by speaking in detail about Charles

IV and court in which Goya had such high standing. She describes, in detail, his printmaking process, the materials he used, his manner of proceeding in great and fascinating detail. Throughout are photos of the original copper plates Goya used in making the "Caprichos" and "Disparates" print series, not the actual prints themselves. This is an interesting choice and serves as a metaphor for what Blackburn seeks to do in her book; that is, to give us a detailed mirror image of Goya's life and times--nothing like a straightforward biography--with elements of the writer's personal memoir, late 18th and early 19th century Spanish history, regional customs, period dress, royal peccadilloes, and the social critique that was so central to her subject's work.

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LibraryThing member bookcrazed

Blackburn has concocted an interesting combination of personal memoir and biography. Her recollections of a book of Goya's art that her artist mother owned is the bridge between the author's personal memories and her biographical notes on Goya's life. In addition to the usual document searchs, she

traveled to the places where Goya lived and worked. The result is that much of what she has to say about Goya, his life, and his work is written in the first person, as she reflects on what she discovers. I was drawn to this book because of having read a previous Goya biography that included his complete known oeuvre. Blackburn's effort was a slow read for me at the outset, but about half way through, I engaged totally. From that point onwards, I enormously enjoyed her artistry, her ability to paint with words. A special treat is the peek into the creative process of biographical fiction. Where facts offer only a tease of events, Blackburn invites us to imagine with her what may have quite logically happened. The combination of her present and past with the known and imagined pasts inhabited by Goya is an effective device—unique among the books I have read. The book is profusely illustrated with black and white photographs of Goya's copper plates. It's an interesting effect, yet I would rather have seen photographs of the many paintings she discusses in the course of her narrative. (July 2008)

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Original language

English

Original publication date

2002

Physical description

256 p.; 5.08 inches

ISBN

0099437252 / 9780099437253

Barcode

3359

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