The Enigmatic Black Paintings of Francisco Goya: History, Meaning, and Legacy

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Jan 23, 2026

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Introduction

The Black Paintings are a series of fourteen massive murals painted directly on the walls of Francisco Goya’s country house, Quinta del Sordo, around 1820. Hidden from public view, they depict nightmarish scenes of decay, violence, and existential dread. Unlike his earlier court portraits, these works were never commissioned, titled, or explained by Goya himself, leaving scholars to piece together their origins.

Goya’s Life and Times

Early success: Born in 1746, Goya rose from modest beginnings to become a celebrated portraitist for the Spanish royal family.
Political turmoil: The French Revolution (1789) sparked fear in Spain; Goya sympathized with liberal ideas while still dependent on royal patronage.
Personal crises: A mysterious illness in 1793 left him deaf, triggering a depressive phase that darkened his palette.
War and oppression: The Peninsular War and Ferdinand VII’s repressive regime exposed Goya to brutal civil conflict, inspiring his “Disasters of War” etchings (c. 1810‑1820).

The Road to Darkness

Goya’s later years were marked by: - Recurrent illnesses (1777, 1787, 1819, 1828) causing paralysis, partial blindness, and chronic pain. - Deep personal loss: multiple children died in infancy; his marriage was unhappy. - A growing sense of hopelessness about humanity, reflected in his shift from idyllic scenes to stark, unsettling imagery.

The Black Paintings – Overview

Location: Painted directly onto the walls of his home; modern X‑rays reveal earlier, serene murals underneath, which Goya deliberately overpainted.
Purpose: Not intended for exhibition; they serve as a private, visceral record of Goya’s inner turmoil and his critique of society.
Style: Monochromatic, raw brushwork, ambiguous narratives; figures are grotesque, faces distorted, and backgrounds black, creating a claustrophobic atmosphere.

Key Works and Their Possible Meanings

Saturn Devouring His Son
Traditional myth shows Saturn (Cronus) eating a newborn to prevent being overthrown.
Goya’s version shows a terrified, almost ashamed Saturn and a victim that appears adult or female, suggesting themes of time consuming humanity, personal loss, or a strained relationship with his own son.
Witches’ Sabbath
Depicts a goat‑headed figure (Satan) presiding over horrified witches; likely a silent protest against the Spanish Inquisition, reflecting Goya’s liberal stance.
The Dog (or Drowning Dog)
A lone dog half‑submerged, struggling against a dark mass; interpreted as a metaphor for human helplessness and Goya’s own sense of impending death.
Two Old People Eating
An unsettling domestic scene where an elderly woman smiles grotesquely while a possibly dead companion watches; illustrates Goya’s fascination with darkness lurking beneath everyday life.
Pilgrimage to San Isidro
Reimagines a previously bright festival as a bleak, despairing procession, perhaps commenting on the loss of joy during war.
The Three Fates (Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos)
The mythic sisters are rendered as twisted, gnarled figures, stripping them of reverence and emphasizing the inevitability of death.

Interpretation and Themes

Universal suffering: Goya moves beyond specific battles to portray the perpetual agony of humanity.
Time and mortality: Motifs like Saturn and the Fates suggest an obsession with the relentless passage of time.
Critique of authority: Witchcraft scenes subtly condemn the Inquisition and oppressive regimes.
Personal anguish: The paintings mirror Goya’s own health decline, fear of death, and familial disappointments.

Goya’s Health and Personal Turmoil

Scholars such as Laura L. Casey argue that Goya suffered from somatic depression—a physical manifestation of deep psychological distress. His deafness, chronic pain, and repeated illnesses amplified his sensitivity to external horrors, making him uniquely capable of translating collective trauma into visual form.

Legacy and Misconceptions

Madness myth: The popular narrative that Goya simply “went mad” oversimplifies a complex interplay of political, personal, and health factors.
Artistic empathy: Goya’s heightened sensitivity allowed him to see colors of humanity invisible to most, but it also intensified his suffering.
Enduring impact: The Black Paintings remain some of the most powerful visual meditations on the human condition, influencing modern expressionist and surrealist artists.

Conclusion

Goya’s Black Paintings are not mere products of insanity; they are profound, private reflections on war, oppression, mortality, and personal loss. Understanding the historical context, Goya’s health, and his emotional landscape allows us to appreciate these works as timeless commentaries on the darkest corners of the human soul.

Goya’s Black Paintings reveal a master artist confronting personal and societal darkness, offering an enduring, empathetic portrait of humanity’s suffering rather than a simple tale of madness.

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Francisco Goya The Complete Paintings Book Recommended

A comprehensive collection of Goya's works that includes the Black Paintings, helping readers study his artistic evolution and understand the context of these haunting murals

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The Black Paintings Of Goya Book

Focused analysis of the fourteen murals, providing scholarly interpretations and high-quality reproductions for deeper insight

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Goya: The Life And Works Hardcover Book

Biographical details combined with full-color plates give context to Goya's personal crises and political environment that shaped the Black Paintings

Amazon →

Saturn Devouring His Son Goya Print Poster

A high-quality reproduction of Goya's most famous Black Painting, allowing art lovers to experience its dramatic impact at home

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Goya Witches' Sabbath Art Print

Provides a vivid visual of Goya's critique of the Inquisition, enhancing appreciation of his symbolic protest against oppression

Amazon →

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there are three new items in the horses
store check them out at horses. land
thank you I hope you enjoy this
video These 14 Works make up a series
called the black paintings by the
Spanish artist Francisco Goya they were
massive murals depicting horrific scenes
of Decay destruction and suffering they
were painted directly on the walls of
the artist's home nobody was supposed to
see the black paintings they were never
intended for public view they do not
have titles they were not commissioned
by anyone Goya never spoke or wrote
about them he never told any of his
friends or family members about the
paintings and there are virtually no
records of their existence from goya's
life so why did the artist make them how
did Goya go from painting idyllic works
like this to works like this why would
any individual choose to Adorn their
walls with paintings of cannibalism
Witchcraft and S
the trajectory of goya's work follows a
well-trodden narrative about an artist
descending into madness but this is but
simply a poor explanation for the black
paintings The Descent into madness tale
does not just do a disservice to goya's
paintings but to Art and perhaps even to
humanity
itself we will get to that conversation
but for now let's start with Francisco
Goya
Francisco Goya was born in 1746 in fent
toos Spain although born into limited
means Goya found immense Fame as a
painter throughout his life he was often
commissioned by Royals for portraiture
and as an artist Goya was the subject of
near Universal
Acclaim this video is about goya's black
paintings but to understand these works
we must understand how Goya arrived at
them they were not created in a vacuum
but instead as a reaction to a myriad of
circumstances
as wonderfully as things were going
within goya's career the same could not
be said for his country in 1789 the
French Revolution was sending shock
waves into Spain the Spanish government
attempted to Stamp Out These
revolutionary ideas and Spanish
sympathizers were forced into hiding
Goya himself sided with the left-leaning
revolutionaries but his life materially
depended on commissions from the Spanish
Crown this crisis of conscience did not
create the black pink but it is perhaps
the very first straw on the camel's back
in 1793 a mysterious disease left Goya
completely deaf shortly after losing his
hearing Goya underwent an intense
depressive episode his work became
darker and more pessimistic focusing on
human suffering and the cruelties of the
world this is captured perfectly in his
1794 painting yard with lunatics in the
work goab depicts patience in a mental
institution strikingly the building seem
seems to be outside the sun is shining
brightly in the entire upper portion of
the canvas and yet the figures are all
bathed only in darkness externally the
situation in Spain was worsening as well
Ferdinand iith took power and under his
Reign Spain entered into a civil war
Goya attempted to leave the capital city
of Madrid on two occasions but was both
times threatened with the seizure of his
property and the loss of his job so he
stayed in the capital where he held a un
unque and bizarre relationship to the
conflict on one hand he was painting for
the new invading King on the other
Spanish generals invited Goya to
document the struggles of their soldiers
all the while Goya witnessed firsthand
the terror of the Civil War during this
time he produced a series called the
disasters of War which are a direct
precursor to the black paintings it's
hard to say exactly when Goya began
disasters of War but the earliest entry
is dated to
1810 The Works are most obviously about
the war of independence but they are
also about war in its totality goya's
disasters omit references to real people
places or events much like his later
black paintings instead they portray the
everyday sufferings of a population
ripped apart by violence in the series
Goya is not interested in arguments over
a just or unjust War rather he seems to
portray War as fundamentally wrong the
war is not an error on the part of the
Spanish or the invading forces but error
on the part of humanity itself this
philosophy this pessimistic view of
humankind is the thread which carries
Goya through to his black paintings the
horrors of war the human suffering in
his etchings were not temporary but
rather quite permanent they became a
hinge around which his creative process
seemed to turn with the political
situation becoming more oppressive and
his health continuing to decline Goya
purchased a house in the countryside by
this time goya's creative voice had
entirely entered a world of Darkness
this would soon culminate in the black
paintings in 1819 Goya fell seriously
ill once again he recovered but would
lived the rest of his days in severe
mental anguish over a relapse in the
looming threat of death it is likely
that after his recovery Goya began work
on the black paintings these paintings
were applied directly to the walls of
his home modern x-rays have shown that
beneath the black paintings there were
pleasant murals of Nature and Country
Life it's unclear if Goya painted these
murals but no matter the case the black
paintings represent a deliberate desire
to cross out the idilic with the maab
these 14 paintings do not depict Flesh
and Blood events they are not images of
things occurring in the world as far as
we know instead they are a reflection of
mood of goya's own internal state of
being amid the wars political turmoil
and failing Health the black paintings
offer a private Glimpse Inside the Mind
of Francisco Goya Saturn devouring his
son is likely the most famous of the
black paintings in subject it depicts
the myth of Kronos who was later renamed
to Saturn by the Romans in that story
Kronos believes one of his sons will
usurp his throne and so Kronos devours
the infant at Birth The Narrative is
obviously interesting but it is goya's
depiction which demands attention
earlier more traditional depictions of
this scene like this one from Peter Paul
Rubin show Saturn as cruel and
malevolent for a more direct comparison
we can look to an earlier work by Goya
himself years before creating the black
paintings Goya produced a chalk drawing
of Saturn devouring his son in the
drawing Saturn looks every bit as
violent as Reuben's and he is depicted
with two bodies as if his ruthlessness
has a procedural quality to it but in
goya's later painting it is hard to see
any bit of Cruelty on Saturn's face
instead he looks afraid Saturn stares at
the viewer as if being caught in an act
most deplorable we are afraid of the
monster and the monster is afraid of us
the damage is already done the figure he
holds is blooded and headless Saturn who
we would see as the monster is horrified
by himself the bright lighting puts
Saturn in a spotlight against the black
background it feels as if we have
interrupted
something but when we examine the tale
of Saturn against goya's work we find
huge inconsistencies in the story Saturn
is devouring a newborn child the body
being eaten in goya's painting though is
quite clearly an adult the shape of the
body could even suggest that it is a
woman as well rather than a son the
Titan Kronos is also representative of
time perhaps Goya Saturn is time the
passing of time and all of Mankind's
machinations devouring Humanity itself
but the painting lacks the typical
iconography that would be associated
with Saturn constellations hourglasses
and sides are conspicuously absent
artists are inclined to take creative
Liberties certainly but one possible
explanation for these inconsistencies is
also that the painting does not depict
Saturn Goya did not title the painting
historians today have given it that
title and anointed it that subject
matter but this is just a theory it's
quite possible that Goya did not paint
Saturn so what did he paint Goya and his
wife had between five and 20 children no
one really knows the exact number but
only one survived Beyond childhood their
son Javier from Javier's earliest days
Goya doed over the boy Goya wrote poetic
letters to his friends about his son
when his wife died Goya gave virtually
all of his belongings and paintings to
Javier after Javier married into a
wealthy family Goya still took Financial
respons responsibility for the child
nearing the end of his life Goya was
spending all of his money on his son the
father had Grand hopes that Javier would
devote himself to Art but that did not
happen when we look at a portrait of the
21-year-old Javier done by Goya we
perhaps see how Goya viewed his child
the boy is handsome but he is childlike
pretty and his expression is even aloof
the painting does not render Javier as
strong or determined but instead as a
well-to-do UNC concerned youth perhaps
Saturn is a reflection of goya's own
strained disappointing relationship with
his son or an allegory for the children
Goya lost but I think to prescribe such
specific meaning to works of art is
often a misled Endeavor and as we
continue to look at the black paintings
this does become a good thesis on The
Works witch's Sabbath is another iconic
painting from the period in the work a
goat likely Satan presides over a
covenant of witches who look horrified
and distraught at the scene the shortest
of the witches sitting next to Satan has
been suggested to be a child or an
infant being prepared for some kind of
ritual the witches are painted in
unflattering forms they are grotesque
and twisted in their renderings still
though the painting offers very little
in the way of outright condemnation of
Witchcraft specifically instead it just
shows some ritual as Goya would have
imagined it the setting is vague at very
best it seems clear that the events are
occurring outside but the viewer knows
little more than that this was not the
first time Goya painted witchcraft his
arguably more famous work from several
years prior shows a similar scene he
depicted witches in a few other works
Goya was a staunch liberal and he
fiercely opposed the work of the Spanish
Inquisition his paintings of witches are
generally accepted as silent protests to
the Inquisition this one is no exception
in another famous piece from the black
paintings goya's subject manner shifts
from the cosmic and mythical to the
mundane and even crass two women and a
man seems to depict a man masturbating
to the mockery or humor of two peasant
women just like in Saturn and Sabbath
the painting is set against an ambiguous
black background the scene could be
playing out anywhere at all Goya has
disfigured all of the faces whether they
are jovial embarrassed or something else
entirely they have become grotesque and
horrific depictions of human emotion
there is also two Friars which seems to
depict a monk alongside some vaguely
beastial figure while the bearded figure
looks contemplative and receptive in the
painting as it exists today this is a
result of changes during the restoration
process in early photos of the paintings
on goya's walls the bearded man seems
dark brooding and even standoffish the
whispering figure has been better
preserved he barely looks human some
historians have suggested him as a
metaphor for time or death
itself one of the most mysterious
paintings of the series is two old
people eating historians do not know
where this was painted in the home nor
do they entirely understand what is
going on in the painting the work shows
two figures one holding a spoon who
seems to be a woman she is grinning
widely though her smile does not look
particularly amicable the other figure
looks on if he is even alive at all here
we have what would be a Charming
domestic scene to elderly people having
dinner morphed into the grotesque what
is this lady pointing at why is she
smiling if she is accompanied by a dead
body or a dying man this work reflects
goya's tendency with the black paintings
where many artists look for the
beautiful in the Common Place Goya
seemed obsessed with finding darkness in
everyday minutia pilgrimage to San
Isidro is particularly compelling it
shows a scene that Goya had already
painted once in his life but his
previous depiction of Santa Cedro
offered bright colors beautiful Fashions
and a sense of Serenity there is
anything but Serenity in this one
however historians believe the painting
depicts a festival called saturnalia
this Festival though is a merry bright
occasion Goya has instead given it a
characteristic unrelenting bleakness the
figures in this painting do not show
celebration but instead immense Despair
and
distress with an atropos Goya returns to
the heavenly this painting depicts the
three Fates clo lusus and atropos these
Divine figures are Daughters of the
Knight said to Grant man access to Good
and Evil but Goya has not painted them
with the reverence traditionally given
towards the gods they are gnarled and
disfigured as they carry away a fourth
body through the sky certainly the most
heartbreaking of the black paintings is
the drowning dog again only titled so
much after goya's death in fact this
particular painting has been aign a
number of titles these include the dog
head of a dog the buried dog the half
drowned dog and the half submerged dog I
personally find this painting to be
immensely distressing the more we stare
at the scene the harder it becomes to
look many art historians have taken the
work as depicting a losing battle the
dog against this sloped large dark Mass
the dog is perhaps human futile posed
Against Humanity the individual defeated
by the world I think of this painting as
a thesis statement for the black
paintings Goya is the dog isolated and
nearing the end of his life and defeated
by forces far far outside of his control
death was coming Goya knew this and
there was nothing he could do to stop it
the forces of the world the slopes were
unrelentingly pushing into him he was
drowning although it is tempting to
force blunt interpretations on onto
these or any paintings The Works are
mysterious and vague the black paintings
may not be one-o-one depictions of
scenes scenarios or stories they are
instead reflective of goya's spirit
likewise examining these paintings is
more an act of the Soul than one of the
mind so perhaps we should turn to goya's
soul for our closest approximation at
understanding his
work the most blunt and shallow
assessment of Goya weaves Tales of a
descent into madness but look at what
this artist has given Humanity certainly
Goya deserves a more nuanced
conversation certainly he deserves some
empathy for this conversation we can
look to factors both external and
internal for n the 7 the ruling Monarch
in Spain would be a good place to start
often called Spain's worst King
Ferdinand was a short-sighted tyrant who
lacked courage Constitution and
competence his Reign was marked by
oppression specifically the oppression
of ideas which Goya himself held dear to
his heart Ferdinand had no interest in
the well-being of his people his court
was Rife with corruption and the King
dreadfully mismanaged Spain's overseas
colonies as we already mentioned
Ferdinand ultimately plunged Spain into
Civil War even if Goya could have shut
out political turmoil from his mind he
would not have found a safe place to
retreat Goya was never in great health
mentally or physic physically most
specifically we can point to four
distinct episodes of illness in 1777
1787 1819 and
1828 all of these incidents have been
the subject of a wide range of
speculation without any definite
conclusions Goya symptoms throughout his
life were remarkably disperate the
artist was plagued with temporary
paralysis partial blindness depression
nausea dizziness pain and a general
sense of Sorrow amid the varying
diagnoses historians have offered for
Goya Laura L Casey points to aam's razor
in her paper Goya in sickness and in
health she argues that we should accept
the most obvious and most simple
explanation all of these symptoms with
the sole exception of his deafness are
characteristic of somatic depression
that is depression which affects the
body instead of only the mind in one
famous etching entitled the sleep of
Reason produces monsters we can find
some evidence for Casey's conclusion the
work shows a figure often believed to be
Goya himself plagued by beasts and
demons as he leans onto a table his
hands attempting to Shield himself from
these torments the work is likely an
allegory for Spanish Society at the time
but goya's life also provides a number
of incidents that could certainly
catapult the individual towards severe
depression in 1773 Goya married Maria
Hosea who was well connected to the
royal family Goya knew that he had
political views the Royals would see as
Troublesome but he also had no interest
in abdicating his opinions so today
historians believe his marriage carried
ulterior motives by having the support
of a well-to-do family Goya could paint
and express his feelings without the
immediate danger of Retribution of
course such a marriage would create
tension indeed Goya and his wife had a
lifelong relationship which was
decidedly unhappy to compound this issue
Goya and his wife buried all but one of
their children if the low estimates are
true Goya would have seen four of his
children die on the high end as many as
19 while Goa eventually arrived at a
place of critical Acclaim this was not
always the case his early entries into
the Spanish art world were met with
rejection after rejection the eventual
arrival of Ferdinand iith would have
also pushed the liberal Goya into
disfavor even if the king did not
outwardly Force any consequences on the
artist all of these things were
happening against a backdrop of devast
ating civil war Civil War which was
plaguing goya's backyard his day-to-day
life these troubles would be enough to
affect any given individual surely but
as Casey points out in her paper an
artist like Goya would have been
uniquely sensitive to this
turmoil it is a safe generalization to
say that artists are more susceptible to
mood disorders than other members of the
population certainly the degree to which
this is true ranges widely on a case-by
Case basis artist arti are not always
troubled and troubled people are not
always artists but as it so often
happens trouble and talent worked in
tandom for Francisco Goya Goya displayed
an inherent and lifelong propensity
towards heightened sensitivity this
enriched goya's abilities as an artist
surely gifted with a greater awareness
of his General environment and his own
mind Goya was inherently better equipped
to portray these Landscapes both mental
and physical he could see colors of
Humanity that many of us cannot but this
Talent was not always to his well-being
when Goya saw pain he felt it magnified
when he experienced pain it fractured
him goya's contemporaries recall that
the artist regularly experienced bouts
of violent outrage after seeing
injustices suffering and
cruelties after his 1819 illness Goya
produced a painting called self-portrait
with Dr arietta this shows his doctor
holding Goya and offering him a tonic
the doctor here feels more like a priest
offering Goya his last rights while the
painting was produced in a sort of
thankful gesture Goya long held disdain
for medical professionals within Spain
and this was well Justified during
goya's life there was a tradition of
calling Physicians matasanos which
translates Loosely to killers of the
healthy surgery in Spain took a form
that basically resembled blood leing the
Spanish Inquisition was also happening
during goya's life within this context
physical maladies were caused not by
physical conditions but instead by
spiritual faith-based issues any
physician who divorced the physical from
the metaphysical would have been
essentially laughed out of their
position and so towards the end of his
days goya's life was in the hands of a
system which he hated and which he
rightfully saw as corrupt and misled
consider this alongside a life which was
marked by physical health crisis with
unending threats to his life and a
medical system which seemed entirely
incompetent goya's later years were
marked by the looming threat of death he
seemed certain that he would die if not
Tuesday then Wednesday if not Wednesday
then Thursday that he had outlived his
own life and that death would soon come
to
collect when we consider these things it
is not just goya's art that we unlock
but art itself and even Humanity
at its very best art is a direct
communication from the soul it defies
clumsy explanations goya's black
paintings are perhaps the Pinnacle of
this we have no Insight from the artist
on the paintings they do not depict
events which we can look to the material
substance of the work is equally elusive
they are in horrible condition and have
been editorialized almost shamelessly in
places the black paintings defy
mechanical explanation they always will
with this in mind it is very tempting to
say that Goya just went mad in his
Countryside estate but this is incorrect
it is dismissive and for that it is a
cruel thing to
say when I was a child I used to watch
my grandfather build model airplanes
these planes were the result of great
care and labor and consideration and he
used fine instruments and delicate tools
to put them together often when we
classify people as crazy we are just
throwing Parts into a pile and saying
we've built an airplane we fail to
realize that individual pieces have
significance this plank is a wing this
glass is a cockpit this plastic is the
propeller if we choose to neglect these
significances and choose to think
without care certainly that is a fault
of our own rather than of the model
itself so too are the feelings and
experiences of the individual Francisco
Goyo was a strong man sensitive and
strong
absorbed events in the world around him
he felt pain and he acted in a way that
was honest to himself our inability to
build this airplane our inability to
empathize does not make Francisco Goya a
crazy
person his legacy should not be
embellished by romantic vague Notions of
an artist driven to Madness instead Goya
and his work exist as profound
reflections of The Human Condition both
internal and external this is a gift he
has given us and one that we would do
well to repay