Goya’s Black Paintings were created in the later years of his life between 1819 and 1823. The paintings depict intense, haunting themes which reflected both his bleak outlook on humanity, and his fear of insanity. The internal turmoil of the constantly changing Spanish government and the Napoleonic Wars had left Goya with a rather embittered attitude towards mankind. Goya had experienced at first hand the feelings of hysteria, fear, terror, and panic. Having experienced two very near-fatal illnesses, Goya grew increasingly anxious for fear of relapse. It is the combination of all these factors that many believe led him to create his Black Paintings.
Goya worked the Black Paintings directly onto the walls of his sitting rooms and also enjoyed co-location on the walls of his dining room, using oils to execute them. The paintings were not intended to be seen by anyone, Goya not writing about them whatsoever. The paintings certainly were not intended for public exhibition, “these paintings are as close to being hermetically private as any that have ever been produced in the history of Western art”.