Goya’s “Saturn Devouring One of His Sons” Essay

Introduction

The painting Saturn Devouring, One of His Sons by Francisco Goya is scary. The name indicates a form of mysticism as inferred from the word “Saturn,” which is a homophone to satan, an evil being believed by many religions such as Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Moreover, Saturn is one of the planets and a representation of the Roman deity known as Kronos, who was in charge of time (Dedovic, 2020). Artists always try to communicate a message through their work. Thus, the guiding question is: What is the meaning that modern viewers can derive from Goya’s painting? The first hypothesis is that Saturn is cruel and evil to devour his own son. A contradictory hypothesis is that Saturn is a good god who has been obliged to make a costly sacrifice. Although fathers are the epitome of protection and shield, circumstances can make them turn against and devour their children.

Image Description

The painting is a gigantic monster in human form, with bulging eyes and hair roughly brushed backward, appearing as a mane. The monster is holding the lifeless son at the waist, having already eaten his head. There is blood dripping on the son’s hands and shoulders as the Giant’s wide open mouth is ready to bite off the arm (Appendix 1). The artist uses angular lines in painting the bent knee and angles, which makes the Giant appear huge. Moreover, the Giant covers a bigger scale of the portrait, leaving just some small part unoccupied.

Identification of the Artwork

The artwork is a painting in a framed portrait known as Saturn Devouring One of His Sons. According to Dedovic (2020), it is one of more than ten Black paintings collections by Goya. The artist mounted all of the paintings on the wall of his house, the Quinta, located in Spain. Notably, the artwork was completed between 1819 – 1823, which was during the Romanticism movement (Artincontext, 2022). The medium is mural, which was then transferred to canvas. It has a height of 143.5 centimeters and a width of 81.4 centimeters (Artincontext, 2022). The original art is currently located in Museo Nacional Prado, Spain.

Thematic Analysis

The main theme of the painting is mythology, focusing on the Roman gods. The painting invokes a sense of loneliness, grief, and terror. There are some biblical narratives that bear some resemblance to the illustration in the image. For instance, Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac, Jephthah, killing his only daughter and God gave up Jesus. Therefore, it could symbolize desperation and hopelessness when a father makes a costly sacrifice. Notably, Saturn has bent knees, which can be interpreted as a low moment of desperation.

Formal Analysis

The background of the painting is dark, which creates a sense of doom and depression. The Giant’s big structure is reinforced by the horizontal line on his shoulder, making it appear wide and masculine. The triangular lines depict Saturn as a monstrous being; even with the bends, he is still huge. Moreover, the ratio of the Giant to the son he is eating appears big enough to indicate its hugeness and the helplessness of the son under its firm grip (Appendix 1). The eyes of Saturn are painted as a set of round white balls with black dots, which gives the bulging portrayal. Notably, neither the Giant nor the son wears any clothes, which could be interpreted as primitive or a lack of shame.

Stylistic Analysis

The painting is a Romanticism art that was found in Goya’s home in Spain. The painting resembles the Hogarth and Gothic styles, which are often characterized by mysticism, bestial cruelty, and tragedy. The cold nature of the painting invokes fear and a sense of being lost. Interestingly, the painting was not intended for the public but for private review on the wall as if it reminded Goya of his despair. According to Artincontext (2022), Paul Ruben’s probably influenced Goya’s paintings. In 1636, Ruben sketched a picture of Saturn, which closely resembles the painting, showing that there is a correlation between the two artists (Dedovic, 2020). Thus, the romanticism style was further influenced by the other artists of the time and the societal context.

Contextualization of the Artwork

The art was painted by Goya at a time when his health was slowly deteriorating. Noteworthy, from when Goya was forty-six years in 1792 to the point of his death in 1828, he suffered from a prolonged illness (Dedovic, 2020). The illness made him deaf, and he lost other capabilities, which made him spend most of his time in his Quita house dabbed the “country home of the deaf man” (Dedovic, 2020). The collection of black paintings was a solace and a form of self-expression (Shui et al., 2022). The implication is that the painting possibly reflects the desperation and hopelessness of his life. Remarkably, the choice of Saturn, who is the God of time, is not a mere coincidence in the image. It is symbolic of the endless time that Saturn has, yet he has to devour a human whose life is limited (Shui et al., 2022). The head has already been eaten, which implies that Goya felt there was no more hope for the restoration of his health. What was left was a lifeless body, a scary and dark home without any glimpse of hope.

Conclusion on Hypothesis Findings

There is sufficient evidence from the formal, contextual, and stylistic analysis to affirm the first hypothesis that Saturn is cruel to eat his son. The picture’s visual presentation, painted black, communicates a demonic atmosphere. The giant’s bulging eyes and the firm grip on the lifeless body are a depictions of greed. Moreover, given the circumstances under which Goya painted, the image denotes that he was hopeless and helpless. A possible antithesis is that Saturn’s devouring on the son reflects a father giving out a sacrifice for a greater good, as is the case in famous bible narratives of Abraham and Isaac, Jephtha and the daughter, or God and Jesus. However, Goya’s painting has nothing to suggest sacrifice but only cruelty.

References

Artincontext. (2022). “Saturn devouring one of his sons” by Francisco Goya – A study. artincontext.org. Web.

Dedovic, B. (2020). When art betrays mythology: Acquitting Cronus (Κρόνος) in Goya’s Saturn. Web.

Shui, G., Wang, Q., & Zhao, Z. (2022). Rebelling or reconstruction: A new understanding of the classical by the romantic painters with exploration centered on Francisco Goya. Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, 1(1), 295-301. Web.

Appendix: 1