016. Francisco Goya

GOYA CRITIQUES THE CLERGY
Goya's final two albums, G and H, were produced during his self-imposed exile to France. Depicting subjects that he witnessed on the streets of Paris and Bordeaux, these drawings are executed in black crayon rather than black wash, as in the previous six albums. In this notably wordless image, a figure cloaked in vaguely clerical garb sits on a rock, absorbed in his writing. His ominous presence, accentuated by the shadowy background, implies a satire on the Church. In a reversal of Christian tradition by which the word of God was communicated through writing, here the malefic figure appears to be transmitting diabolical knowledge.