GOYA CLIMBS THE RANKS
This is one of 132 surviving letters that Goya wrote between 1775 and 1801 to his lifelong friend Martín Zapater. Their correspondence contains both personal details and key facts about Goya's work. Writing in haste, Goya shares an amusing anecdote about falling from a gig and then moves on to more exciting news: in June 1786, he was appointed painter to the Spanish king Charles III, the most prestigious position for an artist in Spain. The title, as emphasized in his letter, came with a steady income and the charge to produce designs for the royal tapestry factory. "I have now established an enviable way of living," he writes, "and if anyone wants anything from me they must come to me."
Francisco Goya (1746-1828), Letter to Don Martin Zapater, signed and dated 1 August 1786