{"id":5610,"date":"2016-01-15T18:04:05","date_gmt":"2016-01-15T23:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/?p=5610"},"modified":"2016-01-15T18:04:05","modified_gmt":"2016-01-15T23:04:05","slug":"i-missed-londons-national-gallerys-exhibit-goya-the-portraits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2016\/01\/i-missed-londons-national-gallerys-exhibit-goya-the-portraits\/","title":{"rendered":"I missed London’s National Gallery’s exhibit, Goya: The Portraits"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have always liked Goya. During my printmaking period, Goya’s prints <\/a>were constantly before my mind. The highlight of my visit to New York’s Metropolitan last year<\/a> was a Goya painting. This fall I hoped to attend London’s National Gallery’s exhibit, Goya: The Portraits<\/a>. Unfortunately, I was not able to join my daughter in England where she was studying, and, so, missed the exhibition (which recently closed).<\/p>\n

Disappointed though I am about missing the show, this thoughtful review of it in the London Review of Books, It stamps its pretty feet<\/a>, by T.J. Clark, provides some consolation. Clark, like almost everyone else writing about Goya, speculates about the ‘weirdness’ of Goya’s work. Goya, like his countryman Velasquez<\/a>, is famous for his psychologically revealing portraits of royals and other worthies. The subjects of these devastating portraits are, we assume, too feeble or indifferent to realize how nakedly their shortcomings are captured and preserved for posterity.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/span>Cleveland Museum of Art Opens Renovations<\/span><\/a><\/div>

Who knows what Goya’s intentions actually were? He was certainly avid to secure commissions to paint well-connected and well-heeled patrons. I suspect he tried to give his patrons what they wanted–fashionable badges gratifying to their self-esteem–but he had too much temperament. Goya’s paintings never quite fit in that comfortable and fashionable space in the way, say, that Lawrence’s<\/a> paintings do (although Lawrence certainly had his miscues<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The Duchess of Alba,<\/em> although not an especially penetrating portrait, is typical in many important respects. Simple as the design is, the landscape is ambiguous. Goya’s spaces are always ambiguous and shallow. Although the Duchess is standing on a beach that curves away into the middle-distance, the feeling of depth is absent. Obviously, the space in the painting was cobbled together in the studio and (probably) relied on borrowings from other paintings. Nothing wrong with that. As in all his paintings, things look natural enough until one starts looking closely.  Goya’s paintings exist in that artistic space<\/em> (for want of a better word) where great art lives. Most writers refer to this as ‘weird,’ or ‘surreal’ or ‘unreal’ (Clark). The Duchess of Alba<\/em> has that shallow space that is in the ‘key of Goya’ (to borrow from music). Manet was much influenced by this key.<\/p>\n

\"'Duchess<\/a>
‘Duchess of Alba’ by Goya<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Read more<\/span>In the Studio Oct. 14 2012<\/span><\/a><\/div>

There is still some controversy about the Duchess of Alba.  <\/em> The duchess, a renowned beauty in her day, is pointing toward the ground where Goya wrote ‘only Goya,’ which fueled rumors about an affair between her and the artist. His nude parting of the duchess no doubt fueled rumors as well.<\/a><\/p>\n

By the by, the ancestor of the woman immortalized by Goya, the 18th Duchess of Alba, died in 2014 at the age of 88. Her fortune was worth more than $3 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/span>Stephen Pentak at Bonfoey<\/span><\/a><\/div>

Anyway, I regret missing the exhibition which included this painting and many, many others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have always liked Goya. During my printmaking period, Goya’s prints were constantly before my mind. The highlight of my visit to New York’s Metropolitan last year was a Goya painting. This fall I hoped to attend London’s National Gallery’s exhibit, Goya: The Portraits. Unfortunately, I was not able to join my daughter in England where she was studying, and, so, missed the exhibition […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":5706,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[251,17,5,6,1],"tags":[296,216],"class_list":["post-5610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aesthetics","category-art-museum","category-artists","category-paintings","category-uncategorized","tag-goya","tag-museums"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/goya-alba.jpg?fit=432%2C634&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3718,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2014\/06\/visit-to-the-met\/","url_meta":{"origin":5610,"position":0},"title":"Visit to the Met","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"June 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"My daughter Jane and son Keith accompanied me to the Metropolitan Museum of Art the other day. \u00a0Next to the Louvre, the Met is my favorite museum. I am going again in three weeks. The painting that struck me with the most force is Goya's Group on a Balcony. \u00a0It's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/goya-met.jpg?fit=500%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5168,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2015\/05\/works-of-art-may-be-offensive\/","url_meta":{"origin":5610,"position":1},"title":"‘Works of art may be offensive”","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"May 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I read this laugh-out-loud piece in the NY Times. The blog post by Jeffrey Kindley is directed toward the college-age population of delicate hothouse plants who\u00a0require trigger warnings on art and other cultural artifacts. \u00a0Columbia university students who found Ovid's Metamorphosis 'offensive and triggering' provide a recent example. Surrounded by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "aesthetics"","block_context":{"text":"aesthetics","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/aesthetics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2161,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2013\/06\/why-do-you-visit-the-museum-so-often\/","url_meta":{"origin":5610,"position":2},"title":"“Why?” (do you visit the museum so often)","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"June 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"A professional from\u00a0Guadalajara visiting Cleveland for the first time was enthusing about the city's many attractions, especially the art museum. \"It's magnificent--world class,\" she exclaimed! \"The Rubens, the Velasquez, the Goya...,\"\u00a0 she rattled-off several more masterpieces she'd seen. \"I know,\" I nodded, \"I visit the museum every week.\" \"Every week?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"poussin","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/poussin.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1318,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2013\/02\/lawrences-annoying-paintings-at-the-cleveland-museum-of-art\/","url_meta":{"origin":5610,"position":3},"title":"Lawrence’s Annoying Paintings at the Cleveland Museum of Art","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"February 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I have nothing against Thomas Lawrence, indeed, I like his work, but\u2014good grief!\u2014he could make some annoying paintings. The Cleveland Museum of Art has two of the offending paintings hanging side-by-side. Lawrence (died 1830) had well-earned success throughout his life. A prodigy, he found success early and later became President\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Portrait of Catherine Grey, Lady Manners by Lawrence","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/lawrence.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1592,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2013\/04\/thumbs-down-sargent-thumbs-up-bouguereau\/","url_meta":{"origin":5610,"position":4},"title":"Thumbs Down: Sargent; Thumbs Up: Bouguereau","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"April 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"John Singer Sargent and William-Adolphe Bouguereau\u00a0are not normally considered together, yet their careers overlapped for several decades. 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The exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art\u2014Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in 19th-Century Paris\u2014provides a great opportunity to examine some drawing and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/monet-cari-e1352833150579.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Gw6F-1su","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}