# Francisco de Goya and the Art of Critique - Hardcover

by **Anthony J. Cascardi** (Author)

**An innovative study of Goya's unprecedented elaboration of the critical function of the work of art**

_Francisco de Goya and the Art of Critique_ probes the relationship between the enormous, extraordinary, and sometimes baffling body of Goya's work and the interconnected issues of modernity, Enlightenment, and critique. Taking exception to conventional views that rely mainly on Goya's darkest images to establish his relevance for modernity, Cascardi argues that the entirety of Goya's work is engaged in a thoroughgoing critique of the modern social and historical worlds, of which it nonetheless remains an integral part. The book reckons with the apparent gulf assumed to divide the _Disasters of War_ and the so-called Black Paintings from Goya's scenes of bourgeois life or from the well-mannered portraits of aristocrats, military men, and intellectuals. It shows how these apparent contradictions offer us a gateway into Goya's critical practice vis-à-vis a European modernity typically associated with the Enlightenment values dominant in France, England, and Germany. In demonstrating Goya's commitment to the project of critique, Cascardi provides an alternative to established readings of Goya's work, which generally acknowledge the explicit social criticism evident in works such as the _Caprichos_ but which have little to say about those works that do not openly take up social or political themes. In _Francisco de Goya and the Art of Critique,_ Cascardi shows how Goya was consistently engaged in a critical response to--and not just a representation of--the many different factors that are often invoked to explain his work, including history, politics, popular culture, religion, and the history of art itself.

### Author Biography

**Anthony J. Cascardi** is the Sidney and Margaret Ancker Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of numerous books, including _The Consequences of Enlightenment_; _Cervantes, Literature, and the Discourse of Politics_; _The Subject of Modernity_; and _The Cambridge Introduction to Literature and Philosophy._

**Number of Pages:** 376

**Dimensions:** 1.5 x 9.1 x 6.2 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** January 10, 2023

## Details

- **Price:** 42.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 42.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- Francisco de Goya and the Art of Critique - Hardcover

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