The story behind Goya’s dark work

In 1828, the already renowned Spanish artist Francisco de Goya passed away and left, painted directly on the walls of his home, a series of 14 disturbing murals that would become known as Black Paintings.

Among them, one that stood out especially would be called ‘Saturn devouring a son‘ — the name already explaining the reason for being known as dark and unsettling.

In the work in question, we see the large figure of an elderly man devouring a human body, this one already missing its head and an arm. Raised in a terribly dark time in her life, Goyasuffering from deep depression and paranoia, the painting is considered to this day one of the most disturbing ever created.

However, this work itself has a series of layers and interpretations, which intrigue art researchers to this day. With that in mind, check out the story behind ‘Saturn devouring a son’in Goya:

Francisco de Goya

First of all, it is important to know the history of Francisco José de Goya and Lucientes. Considered to this day the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, he created paintings, drawings and engravings that reflected several of the historical transformations experienced by Spain at the time, having been a big influence for later painters.

Born on March 30, 1746 in Fuendetodos, Spain, Goya He studied alongside other famous Spanish painters during his youth, quickly establishing himself as one of the most respected of his time.

At around 40 years old, in 1786, he became royal court painterat the time producing works in a romantic and rococo style, portraying court life in general.

His early works barely resemble the work by which he most shocked the world, generally joyful and carefree. However, after an illness left him almost deaf in 1793, his works began to be a little darker.

After the French invasion, led by Napoleon, in Spain in 1807, it was clear that his style became even darker, certainly due to the trauma of the conflict — it was at this time that the series ‘The Disasters of War‘, in addition to Goya began exploring themes such as asylums, witches and religious corruption in his works.

It is also worth mentioning that it was at the beginning of the 19th century that the artist began to suffer from hallucinations and paranoia, with his mental health reaching its worst state around 1819, the same time he purchased the Quinta del Sordohis country home near Madrid.

And it was on the walls of this property that Goyasuffering from deep depression and possibly losing his sanity, created the ‘Black Paintings’.

Discovery

Before I die, Goya He abandoned his residence and spent the last years of his life in Bordeaux, France, where he died in 1828, at the age of 82. Quinta del Sordo passed through several owners, until in 1873 the French banker Frédéric Émile d’Erlanger bought it, and felt there was some value in the 14 murals which decorated the walls of the property; therefore, he decided to preserve them.

He then summoned the Prado Museum’s chief art restorer, Salvador Martinez Cubells, who removed the murals and transferred them to canvas — which, unfortunately, partially damaged the original works. Either way, the paintings became more accessible and easier to transport, which allowed more people to see them.

As already mentioned, the murals are still considered extremely dark today. AND its reception at the time was also not very positive: some critics called it ‘Saturn devouring a son’ — which was actually never named by Goya — “disgusting”, “not very artistic”, and they even insulted the artist by saying that his imagination was “a hideous hell, a disgusting region, deformed like chaos”, according to the Prado Museum.

The Legend of Saturn

As mentioned previously, this dark work of Goya — as well as the others that make up the Black Paintings — was not actually named by the artist, who probably didn’t even imagine that they, on the walls of his home, would be known to the public. This name is basically due to the similarity with the painting ‘Saturn’, by Peter Paul Rubenswhich represents an emblematic passage in ancient Greek legends.

As already described, the work presents a giant and apparently elderly human figure, with crazed eyes, devouring another naked human figure, which is basically also describes the painting of Rubens. This, in turn, is a representation of the titan Cronos (called Saturn by the Romans), father of some of the most important gods in Greek mythology.

According to myths, as reported by All That’s Interesting, Cronos was the father of Hestia (goddess of the home and family), Demeter (goddess of harvest and agriculture), Hera (goddess of marriage and motherhood), Hades (god of the world inferior and of the dead), Poseidon (god of the seas and storms) and, finally, Zeus (god of the heavens and other gods).

However, there was a prophecy that one of his sons would be responsible for his downfall, since he was the ruler among all the titans. Therefore, to prevent this from happening, he devoured all his newborn children; but his wife, Rhea, desperate to save one of their own, hid their sixth son, Zeus, and gave Kronos a large stone instead—and when he grew up, Zeus would fulfill the prophecy.

Other interpretations

Despite the similarities, and even though the name of the painting has already become popular as a reference to Greek myth, not everyone believes in this interpretation of the work.

One element that leads to this disbelief, for example, is that the devoured body visibly does not belong to a newborn, but rather to an adult woman; besides, the myths said that children were devoured whole, and not torn to pieces.

Another factor is that many believe that originally, before the painting was damaged when it was removed from the walls of Quinta del Sordo, the figure of “Saturn” would have been depicted with an erect penis, which may have disappeared with natural deterioration or even covered on purpose.

Therefore, as described John J. Ciofalo in the book ‘Os Autorretratos de Francisco Goya’ (in free translation), some art historians argue that the painting is, in fact, a representation of male sexual violence.

The overwhelming sensation of the image is one of violent, insatiable lust, underscored, to say the least, by the livid, hugely engorged penis between his legs… Total male fury has never before or since been so vividly captured,” the author writes.

Other art historians believe that ‘Saturn devouring a son’ is a expression of anti-Semitismas depictions of Jewish men feeding on children were not uncommon in European art at the time.

In any case, the true intentions of Goya with the work — and the other Black Paintings — are, forever, a mystery that is up to each viewer’s interpretation.

Certainly affected by trauma from a long life witnessing conflicts, deafness and mental deterioration, Goya created in the Black Paintings the portrait of an evil so disturbing that, centuries later, it continues to disturb anyone who observes them. The words themselves Goya in the series ‘Os Caprichos’ can say more about what gave rise to the dark painting than any analysis:

When abandoned by Reason, Imagination produces impossible monsters.”