After the death of his wife, the artist became more introverted and isolated. During that time he was cared for by his maid and relative, Leocadia Weiss, who de Goya portrayed in multiple different paintings. It wasn’t until 1819 when he bought himself a small cottage on a river in Madrid. From there he spent most of his time painting what today is known as the Black Paintings, a collection of dark, violent paintings that portrayed de Goya’s outlook towards humanity. The paintings covered the artist’s little cottage, where a lot of the work was done on the walls of the cottage itself. De Goya never intended for these paintings to be made public, never minding to even sign them. It wasn’t even until 50 years after his death before the paintings were taken down to transferred onto canvases. Most likely to be considered one of his most famous paintings, Saturn Devouring His Son, was completed during this time.
Watching the artistic evolution of Francisco de Goya during a tumultuous political era as well as a romantic revolution within the artistic community helps show how an individual’s personal growth and development can be portrayed via different mediums, and in this artist’s case how insanity, illness, and depression can transport a man into a realm of darkness and despair. It was years after de Goya’s death before his artwork created in his little river cottage was exhumed from the house and made public. This artwork has been inspirational to many future artist and serves as an example of the importance of establishing uniqueness to the art one exhibits.
