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How did Anton Raphael Mengs influence Francisco Goya’s style?

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Francisco Goya: Self-portrait — Francisco Goya Detail of *Self-portrait*, etching by Francisco Goya from the series *Los caprichos*, 1799.

Anton Raphael Mengs, a leading proponent of Neoclassicism and the dominant artistic figure at the Spanish court during the late 18th century, exerted a notable influence on the early career of Francisco Goya.

When Goya began producing cartoons for the Royal Tapestry Factory of Santa Bárbara in 1775, he worked under the direction of Mengs. During this period, Mengs’s teachings—specifically his insistence on simplicity—helped modify the decorative, Baroque-Rococo style Goya had previously adopted from Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.

Furthermore, Goya’s 1780 admission piece for the Royal Academy of San Fernando, Christ on the Cross, utilized a conventional composition modeled in the manner of Mengs. However, Goya eventually moved toward greater independence, increasingly drawing inspiration from the naturalism of Diego Velázquez rather than the strict Neoclassical formulas favored by Mengs.