Surreal, dreamy and thoughtful, the Goya exhibition of the Fondation Beyeler redefined what the museum wanted, while retrofitting his contemporaries
From the works on papers to the new installation made by the French artist Philippe Parreno, the new and powerful exhibition of the Fondation Beyeler reflect on what the museum should showcase and the boundaries of his (enormous) modern and contemporary art collection.
But, why is Goya so important in a museum of modern and contemporary art ? Did it influence artist’s, poet’s or writer’s ?
The men, behind the picture
Before turning ourselves to the intriguing oeuvre of Goya, I would love to replace him, on the map of art history. From his research to his trips, to his disease and his influence.
Born on the 30th of March 1746, Francisco (José de) Goya is born in the small town of Fuendetodos, in the Province of Zaragoza. At an early year, he was already fascinated by the craft of his father, an important gilder of the region.
Therefore, he received his first training during at around 15-17 years olds with the baroque painter José Luzán, whose atelier his in the same province as his hometown.
But, like every good thing, Francisco de Goya started to have a fruitful and fast relation with art in the 1760s, when he travelled to Madrid for the first time in 1763. As he came to Madrid with his early works or copy of the work of José Luzán, the artist became the assistant of Francisco Bayeu, the court painter and director of painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, Madrid.
For 8 years, from 1763 to 1771, the two masters will master the works of the family and royal portrait of the court. Nonetheless, he will travel outside of Spain for a short period in 1769 to see the masterpieces of the renaissance in Rome.
More or less, he will draw every day in the streets or visit painter’s atelier to see the masterwork they held. All pf this documentation will be edited by Goya and named as the “Italian Sketchbook”.
In the last year with Francisco Bayeu, Goya started to work on his first and massive fresco in the basilica of El Pilar in Zaragoza.
Links, stories and perspectives: how Goya reinvented himself with the same motifs and themes
In the oeuvre of Goya, you can feel like you have similar works or themes, such as portraits, still life, genre picture or landscape. But his process goes beyond that.
During his oeuvres, he sometime uses the same seater such as Maja, naked or not?
But as you go further, the paintings took the traditions of the nude in Spanish art with a contemporary twist on it. Therefore, the work not only focus on the mythological aspect but also the relation to the work of Velázquez, especially the Rokeby Venus from 1647. But, Goya is not scared, he's an avant-gardist, he's not showing the back but the front of the women, choking, white and small.
Two directors, loans and corporations; the genesis and process of this masterwork
During the press conference of the exhibition, where Sam Keller (director of the Fondation Beyeler) and Miguel Falomir (director of the Prado Museum), the two men define their relationships and collaborations.
Therefore, the two institutions, private and public helped each other for numerous events and exhibitions. But, as Sam Keller was engaged as the director of the Fondation Beyeler in 2008, his first project was to make a Goya exhibition due to his influence on modern and contemporary art.
The exhibition which took 12 years was then scheduled for a 2020 opening.
The Bridge: connection between the two institutions and the soul of the Fondation Beyeler
As the Curators thought, the question of a Goya exhibition in a museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art exist. Therefore, the show tries to demonstrate the link between the works of Goya and popular works from Picasso, Édouard Manet and Francis Bacon.
The Goya exhibition will also resonate with a line of exhibitions presented at the Fondation. From the Gustave Courbet exhibition in 2014-2015, Odilon Redon in 2014, Degas in 2012-2013 and Segantini in 2011.
PS: the show also resonate with the Beyeler Gallery, due to the first major sale of Ernst Beyeler was a set of Goya's prints.
Informations about the exhibition
Place: Fondation Beyeler
Date: 10.10.2021 – 23.1.2022
Curators: Martin Schwander
Ticket: Available online OR at the front desk of the museum
Informations about the Fondation Beyeler
Baselstrasse 101
CH-4125 Riehen/Basel
Phone: +41 61 645 97 00
Fax: +41 61 645 97 19
Mail: info@fondationbeyeler.ch