Francisco de Goya was a Spanish painter and engraver who lived from 1746 to 1828. He is considered one of the most important and influential artists of his time and a precursor of modern art. His work ranges from painting on canvas and mural, to engraving and drawing. His style evolved from rococo, through neoclassicism, to preromanticism, always interpreted in a personal and original way, with an underlying naturalism and a moral message. He is known for his portraits of royalty, his nudes, his scenes of war and his dark and mysterious paintings. Some of his most famous works are La maja desnuda, La familia de Carlos IV, Los desastres de la guerra and Las pinturas negras. He was praised by many artists and writers, such as Baudelaire, Doré and Hoffmann, and influenced the development of impressionism and expressionism.

Goya was a visionary artist who challenged the conventions of his time and opened new possibilities for the expression of the individual and collective experience.  He is widely regarded as one of the greatest masters of Spanish art and one of the pioneers of the contemporary painting,