1.
Francisco Goya
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Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of late 18th and early 19th centuries and throughout his career was a commentator. Immensely successful in his lifetime, Goya is often referred to as both the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns and he was also one of the great portraitists of modern times. He was born to a modest family in 1746 in the village of Fuendetodos in Aragon and he studied painting from age 14 under José Luzán y Martinez and moved to Madrid to study with Anton Raphael Mengs. He married Josefa Bayeu in 1773, the couples life together was characterised by an almost constant series of pregnancies and miscarriages, Goya was a guarded man and although letters and writings survive, little is known about his thoughts. He suffered a severe and undiagnosed illness in 1793 which left him completely deaf, after 1793 his work became progressively darker and more pessimistic. His later easel and mural paintings, prints and drawings appear to reflect a bleak outlook on personal, social and political levels and he was appointed Director of the Royal Academy in 1795, the year Manuel Godoy made an unfavorable treaty with France. In 1799 Goya became Primer Pintor de Cámara, the then-highest rank for a Spanish court painter, in the late 1790s, commissioned by Godoy, he completed his La maja desnuda, a remarkably daring nude for the time and clearly indebted to Diego Velázquez. In 1801 he painted Charles IV of Spain and His Family, in 1807 Napoleon led the French army into Spain. Goya remained in Madrid during the Peninsular War, which seems to have affected him deeply. Although he did not vocalise his thoughts in public, they can be inferred from his Disasters of War series of prints and his 1814 paintings The Second of May 1808 and The Third of May 1808. Goya eventually abandoned Spain in 1824 to retire to the French city of Bordeaux, accompanied by his much younger maid and companion, Leocadia Weiss, there he completed his La Tauromaquia series and a number of other, major, canvases. Following a stroke left him paralyzed on his right side. His body was later re-interred in Spain, Francisco Goya was born in Fuendetodos, Aragón, Spain, on 30 March 1746 to José Benito de Goya y Franque and Gracia de Lucientes y Salvador. The family had moved that year from the city of Zaragoza, José was the son of a notary and of Basque origin, his ancestors being from Zerain, earning his living as a gilder, specialising in religious and decorative craftwork. He oversaw the gilding and most of the ornamentation during the rebuilding of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, Francisco was their fourth child, following his sister Rita, brother Tomás and second sister Jacinta. There were two sons, Mariano and Camilo. His mothers family had pretensions of nobility and the house, a modest brick cottage, was owned by her family and, perhaps fancifully, about 1749 José and Gracia bought a home in Zaragoza and were able to return to live in the city
2.
Museo del Prado
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The Prado Museum is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. Founded as a museum of paintings and sculpture in 1819, it contains important collections of other types of works. El Prado is one of the most visited sites in the world, and it is considered one of the greatest art museums in the world. The collection currently comprises around 8,200 drawings,7,600 paintings,4,800 prints, and 1,000 sculptures, in addition to a large number of other works of art and historic documents. As of 2012, the museum displayed about 1,300 works in the buildings, while around 3,100 works were on temporary loan to various museums. The museum received 2.8 million visitors in 2012 and it is one of the largest museums in Spain. The best-known work on display at the museum is Las Meninas by Velázquez, Velázquez and his keen eye and sensibility were also responsible for bringing much of the museums fine collection of Italian masters to Spain, now the largest outside of Italy. The museum is planning a 16% extension in the nearby Salón de Reinos and their efforts and determination led to the Royal Collection being enriched by some of the masterpieces now to be seen in the Prado. In addition to works from the Spanish royal collection, other holdings increased and enriched the Museum with further masterpieces, such as the two Majas by Goya. Among the now closed museums whose collections have been added to that of the Prado were the Museo del la Trinidad in 1872, in addition, numerous legacies, donations and purchases have been of crucial importance for the growth of the collection. Upon the deposition of Isabella II in 1868, the museum was nationalized and acquired the new name of Museo del Prado, the building housed the royal collection of arts, and it rapidly proved too small. The first enlargement to the museum took place in 1918, particularly important donations include Barón Emile dErlangers gift of Goyas Black Paintings in 1881. Between 1873 and 1900, the Prado helped decorate city halls, new universities, during the Second Spanish Republic from 1931 to 1936, the focus was on building up provincial museums. The art had to be returned across French territory in night trains to the museum upon the commencement of World War II, during the early years of the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, many paintings were sent to embassies. The main building was enlarged with short pavilions in the rear between 1900 and 1960, in 1993, an extension proposed by the Prados director at the time, Felipe Garin, was quickly abandoned after a wave of criticism. In the late 1990s, a $14 million roof work forced the Velázquez masterpiece Las Meninas to change galleries twice, in 1998, the Prado annex in the nearby Casón del Buen Retiro closed for a $10 million two-year overhaul that included three new underground levels. In 2007, the finally executed Rafael Moneos project to expand its exposition room to 16,000 square meters. A glass-roofed and wedge-shaped foyer now contains the shops and cafeteria
3.
Manuel Godoy
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Manuel Godoy y Álvarez de Faria was Prime Minister of Spain from 1792 to 1797 and from 1801 to 1808. He received many titles including Prince of the Peace by which he is widely known and he came to power at a young age as the favorite of the King and Queen. Despite disaster after disaster, he maintained power via corruption, many Spanish leaders blamed Godoy for the disastrous war with Britain that cut off Spains Empire and ruined its finances. Godoy was born in Badajoz, the youngest child of noble and his father was José de Godoy y Sánchez de los Ríos, de Cáceres y Méndez or José de Godoy y Sánchez de los Ríos Cáceres Morillo y Rodríguez. This noble family always had Knights, Commanders and even Masters in the Order of Santiago, the House of Godoy came from the House of the same name in Galicia, to which belonged Pedro Ruíz de Godoy, son of Rodrigo Alfonso. This Knight married Teresa, daughter of Juan Muñiz, and through her their descendants surnamed themselves Muñiz de Godoy, Don Pedro Muñiz de Godoy was a Knight and distinguished himself in the reign of King Henry II of Castile, of whom he was an intimate. Many of his descendants, connected to the Extremeñas families, were senior officials, in 1784, at the age of 17, Godoy moved to Madrid where he entered the royal bodyguard. When he went to Madrid, his singing and guitar playing set him apart and led him to the Palace, in 1788, he met the heir to the Spanish throne, who later that year acceded as King Charles IV. Godoy quickly became a favourite of Charles IV and of his wife, on 30 December 1788, he was given the office of Cadete supernumerario in the royal palace and in May 1789, he was promoted to the rank of colonel. In November 1789, he was named a knight of the Order of Santiago and in August 1790, Godoys frequent promotions were signs of his increasing influence over the King and Queen. In 1791, Prime Minister Floridablanca accused Godoy of an relationship with the Queen. In January 1792, Floridablanca fell from office on account of Spains relationship with the emerging French Republic and his successor Aranda fell from office the following November, and Queen Maria Louisa arranged for Godoy to be Prime Minister. Godoys appointment seems to have accomplished with the full acceptance of King Charles IV who, lacking talent for governing, was happy to employ a competent. In 1792, Godoy was made Duke of la Alcudia with grandeeship, another year later, he was made Captain General and Duke of Sueca, Marquis of Alvarez, and Lord of Soto de Roma. He was also made the 15th Minister for Foreign Affairs of Spain on 15 November 1792, Godoy continued Spains neutral policy towards the French Republic. In 1793, he failed to save King Louis XVI from the guillotine, Spains protest against Louis execution and its joining the alliance against the French Republic unleashed the War of the Pyrenees. The French armies managed to advance into the Basque districts in Spain by the west, in July 1795, Godoy negotiated the Peace of Basel with France, by which Spains frontier was restored, but its portion of the island of Hispaniola was ceded to the French. Although Godoy was widely criticized for the treaty, he received after its conclusion the title of Prince of the Peace, in August 1796, Godoy negotiated and signed the Second Treaty of San Ildefonso with France, which required that Spain declare war on Great Britain
4.
Majo
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Majas redirects here, for the locality in Mumbai, see Jogeshwari. They flourished from the late 18th to early 19th century, majos and majas were one of the favorite subjects of some 19th-century Spanish painters. The majos and majas outfits were exaggerations of traditional Spanish dress, the style stood in strong contrast to the French styles affected by many of the Spanish elite under the influence of the Enlightenment. Majos were known to pick fights with those they saw as afrancesados, in Spanish, the word possesses derived forms such as chulapo and chulapa, a version of chulo and chula in reference to their saucy attitude, as well as chispero and chispera, among others. Although majos of both sexes were frequent subjects of painter Francisco Goya, two of his majas, La maja vestida and La maja desnuda, would gain international renown. The outfit of the maja would influence the costume of the eponymous protagonist of Georges Bizets French opera Carmen in the mid-19th century, thus the maja became one of the popular and informal symbols of Spain, along with the bullfighter, who took the place of the majo. Some of the 20th-century depictions of the maja became somewhat assimilated to the flamenco dancer, nowadays, the increasing popularity of the maja has ended up eclipsing that of the majo. The image of a maja was the trademark of the Jabón Maja Myrurgia soap, the brands portrait of the maja in the soap boxes and wrappings was based on the person of Carmen Tórtola Valencia, a famous Spanish dancer of the early 20th century
5.
Madrid
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Madrid is the capital city of the Kingdom of Spain and the largest municipality in both the Community of Madrid and Spain as a whole. The city has a population of almost 3.2 million with an area population of approximately 6.5 million. It is the third-largest city in the European Union after London and Berlin, the municipality itself covers an area of 604.3 km2. Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid, this community is bordered by the communities of Castile and León. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political, economic, the current mayor is Manuela Carmena from Ahora Madrid. Madrid is home to two football clubs, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid. Madrid is the 17th most liveable city in the according to Monocle magazine. Madrid organises fairs such as FITUR, ARCO, SIMO TCI, while Madrid possesses modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighbourhoods and streets. Cibeles Palace and Fountain have become one of the monument symbols of the city, the first documented reference of the city originates in Andalusan times as the Arabic مجريط Majrīṭ, which was retained in Medieval Spanish as Magerit. A wider number of theories have been formulated on possible earlier origins, according to legend, Madrid was founded by Ocno Bianor and was named Metragirta or Mantua Carpetana. The most ancient recorded name of the city Magerit comes from the name of a built on the Manzanares River in the 9th century AD. Nevertheless, it is speculated that the origin of the current name of the city comes from the 2nd century BC. The Roman Empire established a settlement on the banks of the Manzanares river, the name of this first village was Matrice. In the 8th century, the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula saw the changed to Mayrit, from the Arabic term ميرا Mayra. The modern Madrid evolved from the Mozarabic Matrit, which is still in the Madrilenian gentilic, after the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba, Madrid was integrated in the Taifa of Toledo. With the surrender of Toledo to Alfonso VI of León and Castile, the city was conquered by Christians in 1085, Christians replaced Muslims in the occupation of the centre of the city, while Muslims and Jews settled in the suburbs. The city was thriving and was given the title of Villa, since 1188, Madrid won the right to be a city with representation in the courts of Castile. In 1202, King Alfonso VIII of Castile gave Madrid its first charter to regulate the municipal council, which was expanded in 1222 by Ferdinand III of Castile
6.
Rokeby Venus
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The Rokeby Venus is a painting by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age. The painting is in the National Gallery, London, numerous works, from the ancient to the baroque, have been cited as sources of inspiration for Velázquez. The nude Venuses of the Italian painters, such as Giorgiones Sleeping Venus, in this work, Velázquez combined two established poses for Venus, recumbent on a couch or a bed, and gazing at a mirror. She is often described as looking at herself on the mirror and this phenomenon is known as the Venus effect. In a number of ways the painting represents a departure, through its central use of a mirror. The Rokeby Venus is the surviving female nude by Velázquez. Nudes were extremely rare in seventeenth-century Spanish art, which was policed actively by members of the Spanish Inquisition, in 1906, the painting was purchased by National Art Collections Fund for the National Gallery, London. Although it was attacked and badly damaged in 1914 by the suffragette Mary Richardson and she is shown without the mythological paraphernalia normally included in depictions of the scene, jewellery, roses, and myrtle are all absent. Unlike most earlier portrayals of the goddess, which show her with blond hair, the female figure can be identified as Venus because of the presence of her son, Cupid. Venus gazes into a mirror held by Cupid, who is without his usual bow, when the work was first inventoried, it was described as a nude woman, probably owing to its controversial nature. Venus looks outward at the viewer of the painting through her reflected image in the mirror, however, the image is blurred and reveals only a vague reflection of her facial characteristics, the reflected image of the head is much larger than it would be in reality. According to Wallace, There is nothing spiritual about face or picture, the classical setting is an excuse for a very material aesthetic sexuality—not sex, as such, but an appreciation of the beauty that accompanies attraction. Intertwining pink silk ribbons are draped over the mirror and curl over its frame, the folds of the bed sheets echo the goddesss physical form, and are rendered to emphasise the sweeping curves of her body. The Rokeby Venus is the only surviving nude by Velázquez, two were mentioned in the Royal collection, but may have been lost in the 1734 fire that destroyed the main Royal Palace of Madrid. A further one was recorded in the collection of Domingo Guerra Coronel and these records mention a reclining Venus, Venus and Adonis, and a Psyche and Cupid. Although the work is thought to have been painted from life. In contemporary Spain it was acceptable for artists to employ male nude models for studies, however and it has been claimed that the painting depicts a mistress Velázquez is known to have had while in Italy, who is supposed to have borne his child. Others have claimed that the model is the same as in Coronation of the Virgin and Las Hilanderas, the figures of both Venus and Cupid were significantly altered during the painting process, the result of the artists corrections to the contours as initially painted
7.
Cabinet (room)
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A cabinet was a private room in the houses and palaces of early modern Europe, a room serving as a study or retreat, usually for a man. The cabinet would be furnished with books and works of art, and sited adjacent to his bedchamber, such a room might be used as a study or office, or just a sitting room. Heating the main rooms in palaces or mansions in the winter was difficult. They also offered more privacy from servants, other household members, typically such a room would be for the use of a single individual, so that a house might have at least two and often more. Names varied, cabinet, closet, study, office, and this was true for the elaborate Studiolo of Francesco I de Medici located in Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. Isabella dEste called her room with paintings commissioned from Andrea Mantegna, Perugino, a studiolo would often have a Latin motto painted or inlaid round the frieze. Heraldry and personal devices and emblems would remind the occupant of his station in life, series of portraits of exemplary figures were popular, whether the Nine Worthies or the classical philosophers, in imaginary ideal portrait heads. Fra Bartolommeo died before starting work, and Raphael got no further than a drawing, dosso Dossi, Alphonsos court painter, completed the room with a large painting and ten small oblong subjects to go as a frieze above the others. Two people in private conversation were until recently said to be closetted. In his closet at Christ Church, Oxford, Robert Burton wrote The Anatomie of Melancholy, Cabinet in English was often used for strongrooms, or treasure-stores - the tiny but exquisite Elizabethan tower strongroom at Lacock Abbey might have been so called - but also in the wider sense. David Rizzio was murdered when dining with his putative lover Mary, Queen of Scots in a cabinet abowte xii footes square, in the same a little low reposinge bedde, and a table. A rare surviving cabinet, or closet, with its contents probably little changed since the early 18th century, is at Ham House in Richmond, London, England. It is less than 10 feet square, and leads off from the Long Gallery, as is often the case, it has an excellent view of the front entrance to the house, so that comings and goings can be discreetly observed. Most surviving large houses or palaces, especially from before 1700, have such rooms, but they are very often not displayed to visitors. Since the reign of King George I, the Cabinet – derived from the room – has been the executive group of British government. The process has repeated itself in recent times, as leaders have felt the need to have a Kitchen Cabinet, figurative uses of Closet have developed in a different direction. Especially wealthy or aristocratic people may have had a series of cabinets in a suite, versailles has a large assortment of cabinets en filade for the king located behind and adjacent to his formal bedchamber, the Petit appartement du roi. The meaning of cabinet began to be extended to the contents of the cabinet, thus we see the 16th-century cabinet of curiosities, often combined with a library
8.
Spanish Inquisition
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The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition, was established in 1478 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms and to replace the Medieval Inquisition and it became the most substantive of the three different manifestations of the wider Christian Inquisition along with the Roman Inquisition and Portuguese Inquisition. The Inquisition was originally intended primarily to ensure the orthodoxy of those who converted from Judaism, the regulation of the faith of the newly converted was intensified after the royal decrees issued in 1492 and 1502 ordering Jews and Muslims to convert or leave Spain. The Inquisition was not definitively abolished until 1834, during the reign of Isabella II, the Spanish Inquisition is often stated in popular literature and history as an example of Catholic intolerance and repression. Modern historians have tended to question earlier accounts concerning the severity of the Inquisition, Henry Kamen asserts that the myth of the all-powerful, torture-mad inquisition is largely an invention of nineteenth century Protestant authors with an agenda to discredit the Papacy. Although records are incomplete, about 150,000 persons were charged with crimes by the Inquisition and about 3,000 were executed. The Inquisition was created through papal bull, Ad Abolendam, issued at the end of the century by Pope Lucius III as a way to combat the Albigensian heresy in southern France. There were a number of tribunals of the Papal Inquisition in various European kingdoms during the Middle Ages. In the Kingdom of Aragon, a tribunal of the Papal Inquisition was established by the statute of Excommunicamus of Pope Gregory IX, in 1232, during the era of the Albigensian heresy. With time, its importance was diluted, and, by the middle of the fifteenth century, there was never a tribunal of the Papal Inquisition in Castile. Members of the episcopate were charged with surveillance of the faithful, during the Middle Ages, in Castile, little attention was paid to heresy by the Catholic ruling class. Jews and Muslims were tolerated and generally allowed to follow their traditional laws, however, by law, they were considered inferior to Catholics and were subject to discriminatory legislation. The Spanish Inquisition can be seen as an answer to the nature of Spanish society following the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslim Moors. After invading in 711, large areas of the Iberian Peninsula were ruled by Muslims until 1250, when they were restricted to Granada, which fell in 1492. However, the Reconquista did not result in the expulsion of Muslims from Spain, since they. The Jews, who had previously thrived under Muslim rule, now suffered similar maltreatment, however, as Henry Kamen notes, so-called convivencia was always a relationship between unequals. Despite their legal inequality, there was a tradition of Jewish service to the crown of Aragon and Jews occupied many important posts. Castile itself had an unofficial rabbi, ferdinands father John II named the Jewish Abiathar Crescas to be Court Astronomer
