Astudy of Francisco Goya’s life and work appears to present many contradictions. For nearly forty years Goya was the principal painter at court and he recorded the glittering wealth of the Spanish nobility. At the same time, in one of the least enlightened countries in Europe, Goya was a liberal thinker. He was a tireless commentator on the social conditions of his age. He hated authority in any form, be it priest, soldier or official, and above all he hated those who exploited the helpless. He was concerned with the floating population, with criminals and prostitutes, and by the crippling poverty that resulted from the injustices of an uneven distribution of wealth. The court must have been ignorant of his criticism or blind to his cries of protest.