An enjoyable, lucid profile of the celebrated Spanish artist that is very much a companion piece/guide to the current exhibition of Goya’s portraits at the National Gallery in London. That being the case, its biographical detail and curatorial insight lean heavily towards one aspect of Goya’s life and work: how he hacked through the layers of patronage to become court painter to the Bourbons on the eve of the Naploeonic wars. However, there is enough of the unignorable remainder – Disasters of War, Black Paintings etc – to ensure this emerges a rounded, intelligent assessment.
