A
Review
The
first
impression
from
seeing
such
a
variety
of
Goya
paintings
gathered
in
one
place
is
the
enormity
of
many
of
these
famous
works.
They
fill
whole
walls
and
spill
over
into
peripheral
sight.
Seeing
(for
example)
The
Grape
Harvest
in
a
book
or
catalog
gives
no
projection
of
the
largeness
of
it,
the
whole
dominating
physical
size.
A
secondary
impression
following
the
impact
of
dimension
is
the
finish
on
many
of
these
"official"
works
of
Spain's
court
painter.
There
is
a
high,
refined
gloss
over
these
images,
with
a
great
deal
of
attention
given
to
balancing
the
focal
center
(typically
a
group
of
figures)
against
the
hazier,
softer
background
(usually
a
soft-focused
landscape).
Between
the
sheer
size
and
the
scope
of
minute
attention
given
to
all
the
elements
in
the
painting,
one
comes
away
with
an
idea
of
Goya's
energy
and
professional
determination
to
excel
in
his
office.
Goya's
ambitions
aside,
that
he
could
complete
such
large
pieces
with
such
attention
to
quality
gives
a
telling
contrast
to
the
ideas
in
his
smaller,
private
paintings,
which
show
a
cruder,
more
immediate
style.
And
there
is
a
very
good
selection
of
such
works
in
the
exhibit.
There
are
a
number
of
portraits,
plus
the
loosely-themed
personal
works.
The
exhibit
includes
several
rooms
dedicated
to
etchings
&
drawings,
with
the
selection
of
preliminary
drawings
for
the
etchings
particularly
interesting,
since
they
do
not
show
up
in
the
usual
Goya
literature
very
often.
The
catalog
published
for
the
exhibit
is
very
well
done,
and
the
image
reproduction
good.
The
text
includes
much
detail
for
each
painting,
and
the
though
laced
with
editorial
comments
on
various
contemporary
issues
(e.g.,
the
condition
of
women
in
Spain)
it
should
serve
as
a
good
window
into
the
mindset
for
future
generations
about
those
who
put
together
this
exhibit
collection.
Also,
the
current
arguments
about
authorship
on
some
disputed
paintings
is
given
brief
explanation,
and
much
of
the
reasoning
in
fashion
toward
explaining
Goya's
personality
is
also
mentioned,
without
any
heavy-handed
psychiatry,
which
is
good.
Seeing
these
paintings
in
the
pseudo-mausoleum
atmosphere
of
the
National
Gallery
detracts
a
bit
from
the
warmth
in
a
good
number
of
the
images
(and
the
tapestries,
too,
which
in
historical
value
help
explain
what
exactly
Goya
was
up
to
during
the
first
half
of
his
career),
but
on
the
whole
the
opportunity
to
see
such
a
terrific
collection
of
works
in
one
place
is
quite
an
event,
and
the
organizers
must
have
had
to
do
a
great
deal
of
work
to
mount
it.
Congratulations
are
due
them
for
such
a
feat.
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