timelines and map
Goya’s Time
Step into the captivating world of Francisco Goya, a visionary Spanish artist whose life unfolded against the backdrop of historical turmoil in 18th-century Spain. Explore his journey from youthful aspirations to artistic triumphs, navigating tragedy, illness, and the tumultuous era of Napoleon's invasion. Discover how his works echo themes that resonate through time.
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1746 - Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was born in Fuendetodos in Spain. He grew up under the reign of King Ferdinand VI during a period of Enlightenment.
When Goya was thirteen years old, another enlightened king called Charles III ruled Spain. The year thereafter, Goya studied art under the painter, José Luzán Martínez.
Goya grew up, and developed his artistic practice, in an environment of Enlightenment values. This self-portrait was completed when Goya was a young man, between 19 and 24 years old.
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Goya was a talented, ambitious artist, but didn’t yet have the recognition he was craving. He entered a drawing competition at the Real Academia des Bellas Artes in San Fernando twice, and failed both times! But he didn’t give up.
Goya joined the studio of painting brothers Francisco and Ramón Bayeu y Subías , which was established in 1763. Francisco Subías was also the lead painter of the Spanish court. This was Goya’s breakthrough into the art industry - Francisco arranged a job for him at the royal tapestry factory, where he completed 63 cartoons. These aren’t the cartoons you’d watch on TV - a cartoon is a painting that weavers would copy when making a tapestry. It wasn’t the most glamorous job, but it brought more attention to Goya’s work.
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In 1780, Goya finally became a member of the Academy and the commissions started pouring in! With the spotlight on Goya, more and more people of the Spanish aristocracy began commissioning him for portraits. A commission is when someone pays an artist to create an artwork for them.
Goya painted the who’s who of the Spanish nobility and earned big bucks. In 1790, Charles IV appointed him as First Court Painter.
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Things were on the up and up for Goya. He was in high demand as a portrait painter, and even claimed that everyone in court knew him, from the king downwards.
But tragedy struck in 1793, when he became sick with an unknown illness that cause him much psychological distress and made him become permanently deaf. It took many years for him to return to painting and printmaking. Unable to paint commissions, he began experimenting with his artmaking style and technique.
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In 1807, Napoleon’s army invaded Spain, and occupied the country for seven years. The Spaniards suffered under the French regime, and violence, assault and famine was commonplace.
Goya kept his job as court painter, and remained neutral about the conflict. He visited war zones across Madrid, and completed the Disasters of War series during this time, although it was only published 30 years after his death.
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After the French were expelled from the country, another disastrous government took control of Spain. In 1819, Goya purchased a home outside Madrid, called Quinta del Sordo (coincidentally named House of the Deaf Man, after its previous owner, who was also deaf). During this period, he had another bout of illness.
Having suffered two life-threatening illnesses, and having lived through the Napoleonic wars, Goya was stressed out with feelings of anxiety, life and death.
In 1826, Goya resigned as court painter, but continued to paint and make prints. He moved to Bordeaux, in France, where he spent the remainder of his life. He died in 1828.
Contemporary Africa
Dive into the vibrant tapestry of African history, tracing some of the pivotal moments that shaped the continent's struggle and resilience. Special focus here is on South Africa, where the ongoing issues facing former colonies have combined the legacy of Afrikaner supremacy. From the stark realities of colonial injustice to these milestones reverberate in the voices of modern African artists.
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Major European countries meet during the Berlin Conference to lay claim to parts of Africa and formalise colonisation and trade.
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Two years after narrowly winning the elections, the National Party passed the Group Areas Act, which determined where people of different “races” lived according to the colour of their skin.
Prime real estate was designated as “whites only” areas, and hundreds of thousands of people were displaced, and their homes were demolished. They were forced to live in areas far away from city centres, or in the Bantustans where there was little work or fertile soil. The Group Areas Act was one of the first laws the apartheid government put into place, to segregate and control people of colour in South Africa.
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Ivory Coast becomes independent from French colonial rule.
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69 people are killed, and hundreds are injured, when police open fire on a peaceful protest against the restrictive pass laws, which controlled the movement of black people in South Africa. Many people were shot in the back, as they were fleeing.
1961 also marked the year that Chief Albert Luthuli, the president of the ANC, received a Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle against the apartheid government.
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Ivory Coast becomes independent from French colonial rule
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The apartheid government had intensified it’s repression of black people and liberation movements such as the ANC and PAC were banned and its leadership imprisoned or in exile.
Tens of thousands of youth, frustrated by Bantu Education and inspired by the Black Conciousness Movement, walked out of schools across Soweto. Many learners lost their lives, and the world was shocked at the brutality of the apartheid government.
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After years of negotiation, and decades of liberation struggle, South Africa held its first democratic elections, marking the end of apartheid.
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Police opened fire on striking mineworkers at Marikana, killing 34. Many were shot in the back, as they were fleeing. At the time, it was the deadliest act of state-sponsored violence in post-apartheid South Africa.
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Former president Jacob Zuma is sentenced to 15 months in prison after refusing to testify before a panel that was investigating corruption during his presidency.
His arrest sparked violence across Kwa-Zulu Natal and Gauteng, and 350 people lost their lives.
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Inequality has increased in South Africa after the 1994 democratic elections, and in 2022 South Africa is named the most unequal country in the world, with race still playing a determinate factor into the quality of life for South Africans 30 years after the end of apartheid.
10% of South Africans own 80% of the country’s wealth.