A Gala For Goya

According to Stephanie Stepanek, the curator of “Goya: Order and Disorder,” a new exhibit that opened Oct. 12 at the Museum of Fine Arts, the best way to understand the 18th-century Spanish painter is to “confront him head-on, looking closely as he turns to different media to impart singular meaning.” This suggestion captures the premise of the exhibit, which encourages its viewers to not only admire the classic historical portraits that made Goya famous but also to dive into the perplexing intricacies of his less publicized works, which demonstrate the remarkable elasticity of his artistic consciousness. Employed as a court painter by four successive Spanish monarchs and beloved for his flattering paintings of aristocrats and intellectuals, Goya was also gifted with a perceptive eye for human nature and the sociopolitical changes of his country, as suggested by his sometimes mordant lithographs, prints, and etchings.

This astounding diversity of subject matter is well represented in the 170 works showcased by the exhibition. Perhaps most complementary to Goya’s style, though, is Stepanek’s decision to create a thematic rather than chronological arrangement of his pieces. Walking through such varied sections as “Court Portraits,” “Couples,” and “Witchcraft,” the viewer is given the chance to delve into the artist’s thorough treatment of each topic and detect the insightful and at times grotesque commentaries present in even his most miniature works.

Many of Goya’s most intriguing portrayals of the human condition occur in the “Life Studies” section of the exhibition. If given a cursory glance, these paintings seem to depict the ordinary daily lives of families; if probed in greater depth, however, they reveal satirical, even sinister undercurrents. “A Good Woman, Apparently,” an ink wash on laid paper, features a well-coiffed woman cradling a sleeping toddler. A closer look at her face however reveals abnormally large, wandering eyes and a malicious smile that imply her attention may be less in virtuous, domestic duties than what her purported “goodness” may suggest. Is it witchcraft? Adultery? The piece’s ambiguity is undoubtedly part of its chilling allure.

Other exhibit sections, such as “Bullfighting” and “Hunting,” exemplify Goya’s use of popular leisure activities to analyze human relationships and experiences, a strategy that makes his subliminal commentaries comical and visually engaging. In the etching “All Will Fall,” Goya used falconry to depict romantic entrapment. Flocks of dandy falcon-men in top hats fall to the ground as victims of a seductive female decoy. Predatory women await below to pluck and disembowel their quarry. Though he mocks the love-struck youth of his society, Goya is careful to show that such tragic ends are not unique to the fanciful fops of his cartoons: the artist himself appears in the top left, still flying high but with an eye inexorably geared toward the tantalizing bait.

The “Balancing Acts” section of the exhibition showcases Goya’s equally perceptive treatment of Spain’s political situations. “May the Rope Break” for instance, features a priest with a dignified, patrician demeanor balancing somewhat unsuccessfully on a rope above a crowd of sneering plebeians. The etching captures the precarious position of the Spanish Catholic Church following the Peninsular War (1807-1814), which would greatly decrease the influence of the clergy. In this way, “May the Rope Break” not only recorded Goya’s political context, but it also correctly divined the future of Spain: the contrast between the clergyman’s fragility and the grotesqueness of the populace allows the viewer to anticipate the impending chaos following the clergyman’s inevitable fall.

Besides artfully revealing the innermost facets of Goya that underlie his courtly painter’s identity, the unique thematic design of “Order and Disorder” makes for an inclusive viewing experience that caters to all styles of museum-goers. Choosing from such an eclectic collection of themes, from “Dreams” to “Lunacy” to “Aging,” viewers are free to dive into the topics of their choice in order to discover—and ultimately choose for themselves—the most compelling reflections of Goya’s genius.