Francisco Goya y Lucientes was born March 30, 1746 in the village of Fuendetodos, Spain. His father was a master gilder. In 1760, his family relocated to Madrid where young Goya started his art studies at the age of fourteen. His teacher Anton Raphael Mengs a popular artist with Spanish royalty. In 1771 Goya moved to Rome where he won second prize in an art competition. July 25 1773 he marries Josefa Bayeu y Subias. Only one of their six children, their son Xavier would make it to adulthood. In 1792 Goya became sick and although the illness was never properly diagnosed we know today that it was probably either typhoid fever or Meniere’s disease which was most likely caused by the lead in the paints he used. The disease left Goya deaf which while developing his other senses and making him much more observant, it also made him more pessimistic. Both these conditions will have a profound impact on his artwork. In 1796 Goya turned to drawing and begins his work on « Los Caprichos » which translated means whimsical, a series of 80 drawings destined to become a satirical book on the Spanish society of the time. In 1799 only 15 days after the publication of his book his book is removed from the shelves and only a formal order from the king of Spain will save Goya from the Spanish inquisition. In 1812 his wife passes away. In 1823 he leaves Spain for France where his health starts to deteriorate. Following a cardio vascular accident in 1828 he becomes paralysed, and dies at the age of 82. In 1901 Goya’s body was exhumed from the Chartreuse Cemetery in Bordeaux and buried in the Church of San Antonio de la Florida in Madrid, Spain, with the exception of his skull which was never found.