Goya

Praise

"Robert Hughes’s dazzling new study of Goya not only conveys the range and prescience of the artist’s work with enormous acuity and verve, but also conjures the world of 18th- and early 19th-century Spain with vivid, pictorial ardor.
Writing in fierce, tactile prose, Mr. Hughes jolts the reader into a visceral appreciation of Goya’s art.
–Michiko Kakutani, NewY orkTimes
"[Goya] is all you could ask for and more. Sturdy in its organisation, its interpretations, its common sense, it nevertheless fizzes with insights and hops with enthusiasm. There is not a dull sentence… Hughes has found his ideal subject."
–Sebastian Smee, The Spectator

"Hughes has succeeded triumphantly. He has written an exemplary work on an extraordinarily difficult subject: eloquent, scholarly, thorough, full of insight."
–Martin Gayford, London Telegraph

"The prolific Hughes offers a refreshing take on this great artist, about whom so much has been written. His powerful intelligence and eloquence… make this a book that will be widely read and enjoyed… [Goya] leaves us in no doubt that Hughes is one of the most forceful art critics writing today."
–Frances Spalding, Literary Review, London

"[Goya] is right up there with his magna opera–The Shock of the New (1980) and American Visions (1997)–and confirms his stature as the most invigorating writer on art currently at work. A valuable resource for students of Goya–and a must for fans of Robert Hughes."
–Anthony Quinn, London Telegraph


"… a remarkably vital, delectably discursive, and deeply affecting study… Hughes brings
eighteenth- and ninetheenth-century Madrid to dynamic life and insightfully
dissects every aspect of Goya’s ever-evolving paintings and etchings,
indelible works that grew steadily darker, more disturbing, and increasingly
radical in their indictment of injustice and violence. Hughes’ profound
appreciation for Goya’s genius and "immense humanity" will inspire readers to
look to Goya’s magnificent, shocking, and clarifying works as to a polestar
as we grapple with the inhumanity of our times."
–starred Booklist review


"… a clever combination of the two genres at which Hughes has simultaneously excelled in his writing–national history and art criticism."
–Waldemar Januszczak, London Sunday Times Magazine

"… Hughes succeeds where others have failed… As far as anyone can, he instinctively understands his man. He also writes beautifully… this book is a marvelous study."
–Michael Prodger, Sunday Telegraph, London