The great Spanish painter, Francisco de Goya (1746-1828), lived in a period of intense political upheaval, civil wars and social turmoil. His early work showed the influence of the Enlightenment, and had a critical point of view that aimed to not only please but also educate his viewers. As time went by, the consequences of illness, war, and political repression that abound in his paintings through impactful and enigmatic imagery upended the traditional role of an artist and earned him a relevant place in contemporary Spanish culture. In fact, although he became a court painter and was well connected to the monarchy, as shown by his royal tapestries and portraits, many of which are undeniable masterpieces, a closer look to his paintings reveals a critical stance that urges his viewers to reflect on the lack of meaning in modern society.

There is no question that Goya continues to be an object of representation and a matter of ongoing scholarship. The many films that bring him alive and the numerous studies that appear each year exploring his works from so many different perspectives are a case in point. This MLA session proposes to build on the existing scholarship by offering a newly informed chance to reflect on an artist of permanent significance, both as an astute observer of the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, but also as a critical reader of a world in crisis. Because as Goya’s incisive Caprichos, the impactful Disasters of the War or the desperate Black Paintings reveal, crisis becomes Goya. Now that we face a contemporary world dominated by the ravages of illness; war and violence; starvation; death; gender violence; political repression; and abusive and exploitative working conditions, it seems like the perfect time to think about Goya. The three selected presenters in this session will complement the substantial existing scholarship on Goya by opening up a space for discussion of reciprocal illumination of past and present where the painter can help us reflect, understand, question and transform our present reality.

Hazel Gold will focus on the cultural-political context of Goya’s understudied sketchbook Album C to discuss issues of violence, physical torture, political repression and the frustration of liberal ideas that came to dictate Spain’s peripheral modernity.

Enrique Fernández’s reading of prostitution in Goya’s work will reveal how the painter’s lack of moral judgement is intended to give greater visibility and elevate the figure of the young prostitute and her go-between while, at the same time, opening the door to the discussion of the poor working conditions of this relevant figure in modern Spain.

In a similar line, Catherine Jaffe’s presentation will examine the textual and visual interaction between the representation and the reality of traditional and new approaches to women’s education and work, showing how Goya’s gendered discourse reflected anxieties over the displacements caused by modernization in Spain.

By putting social class, gender and violence at the center of the debate, these three papers will shape an interdisciplinary, coherent, and cohesive panel in which presenters and audience will have the chance to add nuance to our historical understanding of Goya as a subversive, independent, complicated genius equipped with social acumen who resisted the powers that employed him and whose art exhibits a great capacity for action in our present-day world. Each presentation will be 16-18 minutes long, leaving at least 20 minutes for discussion.