Francisco Goya

Hello! My name is Francisco Goya, and I was a painter. I was born on March 30th, 1746, in a sunny village in Spain called Fuendetodos. Ever since I was a little boy, I loved to draw. I didn’t need fancy paper; I would sketch on walls, fences, or any scrap I could find! My head was always buzzing with pictures, and I dreamed that one day, I would become a famous artist.

When I grew up, I moved to the big, busy city of Madrid. My first important job, starting in 1775, was creating huge, colorful drawings for tapestries that would hang in royal palaces. They were like giant, woven paintings! The king and queen liked my work so much that in 1789, King Charles IV made me his official court painter. It was a very special job! I painted portraits of the royal family, with their fancy clothes and sparkling jewels. I always tried to paint people exactly as I saw them, showing their true personalities in their faces.

Around the year 1793, I became very sick, and when I got better, I could no longer hear. The world became quiet for me, but it made my eyes see things more clearly than ever. My art began to change. I started painting pictures from my imagination and my dreams. I made a famous set of drawings called 'Los Caprichos' to share my ideas about the world. Even without sound, my art had a very loud voice.

I continued to paint and draw for my whole life, even when I moved to a new country, France, in my later years. I lived to be 82 years old, with a paintbrush always near me. Today, people remember me as one of the greatest Spanish artists who ever lived. My paintings, which showed both the light and shadows of the world, inspired many artists who came after me. You can still see my work hanging in big museums, telling stories for everyone to see.