The 'Obscene Works' of Francisco Goya
Exhibit Displays the Spaniard's Masterpieces, Clad and Unclad

Goya's Maja, clothed and nude Courtesy National Gallery of Art  view larger image (click on the images to switch from clothed to nude portraits)

March 11, 2002 -- For three years, from 1797 to 1800, Spanish painter Francisco Goya labored over a canvas depicting a buxom brunette lounging on a couch, stark naked. And from 1800 to 1805, he painted her again -- this time, fully clothed.

The two images were both called Maja, and went on to become classics. And both images are the focus of a new retrospective of the master painter's work at the National Gallery of Art called Goya: Images of Women. For All Things Considered, guest host Susan Stamberg discusses the exhibit with curator Janis Tomlinson.

Loosely translated from 18th-century Spanish, "maja" described a woman who was sexy, forthright, and not very well-bred. Both of the versions Goya painted landed him in big trouble with the Catholic Church and the newly restored monarchy of Spain.

Loosely translated from 18th-century Spanish, "maja" described a woman who was sexy, forthright, and not very well-bred. Both of the versions Goya painted landed him in big trouble with the Catholic Church and the newly restored monarchy of Spain.

In 1813, the Inquisition confiscated both paintings as "obscene works," and Goya himself was called before the Inquisition to explain the nude portrait in particular -- one of the few nudes in Spanish art at that time.

Tomlinson tells Stamberg that the Maja played a pivotal role in sparking a new era in artistic expression. Goya is considered by many art historians as "the father of modern art" whose six-decade body of work foreshadowed an era when artists expressed their thoughts and feelings frankly and openly.

Goya: Images of Women is described as the first major exhibition focusing on the artist's images of women. The show includes 115 paintings, drawings, prints and tapestries, many of which have never traveled to the United States.

Browse more NPR stories on the National Gallery of Art.

Other Resources

• The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. is hosting the exhibit Goya: Images of Women until June 2, 2002.

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