Goya

This study of Goya, newly revised and updated, portrays Francisco Goya, the preeminent Spanish master of the age of revolution, as a pioneer of modern art and culture. Illustrated by outstanding color reproductions of Goya's most important paintings and prints, the text focuses on the genres in which Goya successively worked, while pointing to the many ways his work helped to shape the modern spirit.
It is one of the most intriguing facets of great artists that each century often even each generation - sees different aspects, different ideals, and different values in the work of great masters without in any way changing the essential identity of the artist himself. Where most serious literature on Goya follows the methods and standards of art history - archival documentation, iconographic puzzles, technical matters, and so on - the present book adopts a different approach, based more on the interpretation of Goya's work in the light of contemporary experience and needs.

Fred Licht is curator at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. He has taught at Princeton University, Williams College, and Brown University.