In the context of Self-portrait with Dr Arrieta, explore the The Background Figures & Goya's "Black Paintings" of the Interpretations.
Some interpretations of Self-Portrait suggest that the figures appearing in the background are meant to be seen as humans, reading the figure on the left side of the painting as a woman offering help, and the figure on the right as a neighbor displaying concern for the patient; others view the left-most figure as a priest preparing to practice common deathbed rituals of Christianity. Yet there is also a collection of scholars who see these dark and shadow-like figures as signifying a connection between Self-Portrait with Dr. Arrieta and Goya's later collection of Black Paintings. This interpretation likens the figures in the background of Self-Portrait to the feverish visions depicted in the Black Paintings – visions which are thought to have resulted from the artist's illnesses. In this line of thought, Self-Portrait is viewed as a window into Goya's experiences with illness, as the painting explicitly deals with that very subject.However, there is no clear consensus; Baldwin, for one, raises instead the idea that, rather than being seen as similar, Self-Portrait stands in contrast with the Black Paintings. While the Black Paintings explicitly deal with themes of violence and conflict in the public sphere, the scene in Self-Portrait shows men caring and healing one another within the private sphere. In this way, rather than being pessimistic or nightmarish, Self-Portrait with Dr Arrieta is viewed as a painting about hope.
Black Paintings left