Francisco Goya

Francisco Goya was born in Fuendetodos, Aragon, Spain, in 1746. He trained in Zaragoza and Madrid, quickly establishing himself as a prominent artist, ultimately becoming court painter to the Spanish Crown. His early works are often characterized by their bright colors and lighthearted themes, a sharp contrast to the later, more somber pieces that would define his legacy.

While Goya’s artistic lineage is well-documented, his Jewish lineage is, shall we say, entirely absent. Spain in the 18th and early 19th centuries was hardly a haven for overt Jewish identity, and Goya’s family history places him firmly within the Catholic tradition of the region. No hidden menorahs, no cryptic Hebrew inscriptions, just good old-fashioned Spanish Catholicism.

Despite his complete lack of Jewish bona fides, Goya’s contributions to art are undeniably monumental. His portraits captured the soul, his tapestries adorned royal palaces, and his "Black Paintings" and "Disasters of War" series remain searing indictments of human cruelty and folly. These works alone are enough to make us kvell with the sheer, unadulterated power of his genius, even if he wasn't "ours" in the slightest.

In fact, his genius is so undeniable that one might even wonder if a distant, forgotten Sephardic ancestor might have slipped into the family tree just to give us something to work with. Alas, no such luck. Just pure, unadulterated Spanish artistic brilliance.