Possibly my favorite artist of all time, or maybe it's Bosch. At any rate, the reviewer below did such a brilliant and complete job summarizing Goya that I'd suggest you read his review.

Sorry,a long one.Thanks to an excellent BBC documentary,i've now been looking again at Goya.Did i say Velasquez was the greatest artist from Spain,(a country with 5 of Rateitall's top 13,by the way)?I was premature.Goya's range is breathtaking,his dark,disturbing imagination and vision unique,his technique tremendous.He encompasses the whole breadth of human experience and emotions.His is a world not only of Royalty and aristocrats(he was Court painter),but also of grotesque suffering,of witchcraft and demons,warfare and political satire.His Clothed Maja and Nude Maja are gloriously,lustily sensuous-the latter made the TV Art critic wish he could dive into the painting and spend a wonderful afternoon,like a bee in a flower;the Portrait of Francisca Sabasa Garcia has a lovely tenderness;the brilliant portrait of Charles IV and his family may seem flattering but from beneath the pomp and regal posing,their true characters-haughty,dopey,shrewish,suspicious,matronly- come through clearly,unnoticed to the subjects themselves!His portraits of the Duchess of Alba reveal his more than platonic admiration(in one he has her pointing to words on the ground,"Only Goya").The Execution of 3rd May,1808 is probably his greatest masterpiece; a daring composition and colour scheme,capturing the defiant anguish of those about to be shot and the uniform inhumanity of the executioners.The Colossus,and the horrifying Saturn devouring his own Children(just look at Saturn's expression!)are justly famous.His frescoes at the church of San Antonio,where he now lies,headless,are celestial.I was most struck,though by a lesser-known painting,which seems at first a modern abstract,in pale yellow and brown,but which closer inspection reveals to be of a dog's head over the crest of a gaping hole of sinking sand.This has to be among the most touching works of art i've seen,all the more haunting for its simplicity.Goya's appeal and reputation keep growing.Little wonder;the magnificent technique and perception of a truly great master,but also totally modern.

Viva la patria