Tomlinson’s dryly written accounts of the Spanish court are no Iberian Wolf Hall, but they feature arresting characters.

Tomlinson, a scholar who has been publishing on Goya for over three decades, is concerned to disentangle him from the retroactive politicizations of his admirers.

One of the pleasures of Tomlinson’s book lies in encountering the unvarnished details of Goya’s life; her delineation of the artist’s remarkably flexible political allegiances is especially engrossing. But those, like myself, who have long felt an emotional connection to the cryptic melancholy of his late works, which Goya originally frescoed onto the walls of his home...will find themselves chastened by her approach. She argues that 'the romantic image of Goya, deaf and isolated' recording his inner pain for his own contemplation, is not based in fact.

Janis A. Tomlinson...prefers to let the facts speak for themselves. One sometimes feels it isn’t enough.

... an impressive and scrupulous work of scholarship that eschews a reading of the works in favour of a meticulous account of Goya’s career and personal and professional circles, gleaned from letters, official documents and parish records..

Tomlinson’s meticulous distillation of a voluminous number of parish records, drawings, notes, and letters is impressive, and her knowledge of and passion for Goya continually shine through in her writing, making for a fascinating and insightful reading experience. A top-notch biography..