Goya’s path through Aragón: learning more about the artist

Francisco de Goya is one of the most famous Spanish painters on a national level as well as an international one. He developed the style called Romanticismo, and he is also considered by many the precursor of Las Vanguardias. Goya’s Path through Aragón displays his works of art along a path through his native land.

First Stop: Fuendetodos

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes was born in 1746 into a middle-class family in Zaragoza, who lived in a little town that is now called Fuendetodos. His father was a prestigious artist, a master gilder, which contributed to Francisco’s artistic formation. At this first stop of Goya’s Path, we see his home town. Here, people pay homage to the most famous person to be born in the village at various cultural centers. One of these, his childhood house, was acquired by Ignacio Zuloaga in 1913 and converted into a center of the arts.

ruta de Goya: adoracion
Casa de Goya en Fuendetodos (Fuente: laventanadevenus.wordpress.com)

Close by, there is the Museo del Grabado, which was inaugurated in 1989, in which Goya’s works are permanently displayed on the first and second floors with a selection of prints of his most famous series: Los Caprichos, Los Desastres de la Guerra, La Tauromaquia y Los Disparates.

Second Stop: Zaragoza

Goya’s Path through Aragón follows with Zaragoza. After living in Fuendetodos for a year, the family returned to the city. Here, Francisco began his artistic studies at the Academia de Dibujo de Zaragoza, which was led by the painter José Luzán. He lived in various buildings located in the old part of the city, like in the building at number 4 of La Plaza de San Miguel. The mark of the painter still remains on the capital of Aragón.

ruta de Goya: Retratos
Retrato de Carlos IV a la izquierda y retrato de María Luisa de Parma a la derecha

Goya’s Path in Zaragoza also involves the different museums in the city that house his works. The Museo de Zaragoza stands out among the others for having an expansive collection of portraits such as Carlos IV y María Luisa de Parma, recently amplified by the acquisition of the collection of portraits Don Luis María de Borbón y Vallabriga and Juan Martín de Goicochea.

The Museo Goya- Colección Ibercaja houses the collection of the financial institution, including the following: an Autoretrato, the Retrato de don Félix de Azara y Perera, and one of the latest acquisitions of the of the gallery: La Gloria or Adorción del Nombre de Dios. In addition, in the museum one can also see the graphic artwork of the artist in its entirety.

ruta de Goya: adoracion
Adoración del nombre de Dios, Goya.

Finally, we follow Goya’s Path to the Museo Diocesano de Zaragoza, where they keep a Retrato del Arzobispo Joaquín Company that was acquired in 1800.

Third Stop: Alagón

ruta de Goya: adoracion
Casa de la Cultura de Alagón (Fuente: turismodezaragoza.es)

We follow Goya’s Path to Alagón, a town some 30 kilometers (about 18.5 miles) from Zaragoza. Here, we encounter the Casa de la Cultura, situated in the old school of La Compañía de Jesús of the 18th century, where one can admire, in the cupola that crowns the stairs, a fresco attributed to Francisco de Goya named Exaltación del Nombre de Jesús.

Fourth Stop: Pedrola

ruta de Goya: adoracion
Palacio Villahermosa de Pedrola (Fuente: palaciofrvillahermosa.com)

The next stop of Goya’s Path is Pedrola, only 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) from the previous stop. In the library of the Palacio de Villahermosa en Pedrola, one can contemplate the Retrato de Ramón de Pignatelli, a piece that belonged to Martín Zapater, a friend of the artist, with whom he corresponded frequently.

Fifth Stop: Huesca

Ruta de Goya: retrato de Antonio
Retrato de Antonio Veián y Monteagudo.

Finally (and if you still have the desire), we follow Goya’s Path to Huesca. In the permanent collection of the Museo de Huesca one encounters interesting examples of the graphic and pictorial work of Goya, like the Retrato de Antanio Veián y Monteagudo or the print that depicts Juan Agustín Ceán Bermúdez. This tour takes one all the way through the life of an artist, which will make you love Aragón even more, as well as the work of one of its most famous figures.

Author: Paloma Díaz Espiñeira


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