# From princes to paupers how goya's portraits tell the story of Spain - 科目：雅思阅读真题（Part 2） - 考频：中频 - 最近考试：2025.12.30无锡开放大学 - 题目数：13 - 来源页：https://www.yaquan.site/paper/53cc8377-39b0-4be9-84be-1aa780418803（在线机考练习与音频请访问该页面） - 数据更新：2026-10-29 ## 题目原文 A There are, according to current scholarship, 160 existing portraits by Francisco de Goya - about a third of his painted output. The real number, though, is much greater since there are no pure landscapes in Goya's work, in that everything he ever painted deals with people. In the work of no other great portraitist are a nation's people, history, traumas, folk traditions, and superstitions so comprehensively and relentlessly captured. His subject was a good one since Goya lived in interesting times: his lifetime was a period that saw Spain pass through the effects of the French Revolution, the Napoleonic wars, and the restoration of the monarchy; it was ruled by a succession of authoritarian and liberal governments; and was simultaneously marked by the Enlightenment. Put his work together - the public and private paintings, the personal drawings and sketches, and the unsettling and sinister etching series - and what you have is a portrait in the round of Spain itself. B His work as a portraitist has its origins in the 45 tapestry cartoons he painted after he moved to Madrid in 1775. Although his designs don't show portraits, they do show types - the majos and majas who gave Madrid its street swagger, peasants and rich men, courting couples, singers, hunters, children, and young men and women playing blind man's buff or tossing a mannequin into the air. The pictures have a light, rococo palette and the faces are individualised without being those of individuals. But in them, Goya practised poses and groupings and a way of handling light on and around figures that was to be invaluable. C The tapestry designs also show social roles rather than the people inhabiting them, but when it came to painting portraits proper, Goya would turn this on its head. His greatest strength as a portraitist is that regardless of the status of the sitter, be they a king and queen, the Duke of Wellington, or a doctor or writer, it was the person he showed first and their position second. It was this trait, most apparent in his royal portraiture, that has led him to be seen as satirising the Bourbon monarchy rather than as a painter who depicted what he saw without showing obeisance to the usual flattering conventions. In Robert Hughes's phrase, he did not 'pay reflexive homage to authority' but instead walked a fine line between respect and truth. D Goya's success was rapid; in 1785 he was made deputy director of painting at the Royal Academy (his main message to his students was subversive - 'there are no rules in painting') and in 1786 became pintor de cámara, required to paint 'works required for royal service'. He immediately spent some of his 15,000-reales salary on a two-wheeled gig (one of only three in Madrid) which he promptly crashed on his first outing. His amour propre untouched, he wrote to his childhood friend Martín Zapater: 'I have now established an enviable way of living: I do not wait on anyone in antechambers, and if anyone wants anything from me they must come to me; I have made myself more in demand and unless it is a person of rank or at the request of a friend I would do nothing for anyone...' E Part of the reason for his success was that, unlike Gainsborough, for example, he did not resent portraiture as an economically necessary chore that ate away at the time he could devote to higher art. He embraced the genre as a means of exploring human character. This genuine interest allowed him to penetrate the facade of his sitters, capturing not just their likeness but their psychological state. His portraits from the 1790s, particularly of the royal family, are masterclasses in this approach. He presented them with a stark realism that was unprecedented, grouping them in a way that highlighted their familial dynamics and individual personalities, however flawed or ordinary they might appear. F This commitment to psychological truth became even more pronounced following his near-fatal illness in 1793, which left him deaf. Isolated from the world of sound, Goya’s focus turned inwards, and his work grew darker and more introspective. The light rococo tones of his tapestry cartoons gave way to a richer, somber palette and a dramatic use of chiaroscuro. His portraits from this period, such as those of the Duchess of Alba, are charged with a complex mixture of intimacy, mystery, and power. The line between observer and subject seemed to dissolve, as Goya used the portrait not for public glorification but as a form of private, almost philosophical, inquiry. G Ultimately, Goya’s career traces the arc of Spain’s tumultuous age. The enlightened optimism of his early court paintings gradually soured into a profound disillusionment, vividly recorded in his later, so-called 'Black Paintings'. These murals, painted directly onto the walls of his country house, are a far cry from the formal portraits of princes and dukes. They depict haunting, mythological scenes and grotesque figures, reflecting the despair and chaos of a nation ravaged by war and repression. In this final phase, the portrait of Spain was no longer found in the faces of individuals, but in the tormented soul of its people. ## 题目与答案 ### 14. A description of a personal purchase that ended in an accident. A description of a personal purchase that ended in an accident. - A - B - C - D - E - F **答案**：D 原文定位：He immediately spent some of his 15,000-reales salary on a two-wheeled gig (one of only three in Madrid) which he promptly crashed on his first outing 同义替换：「ended in an accident」↔「crashed on his first outing」 ### 15. The reason why Goya’s body of work provides such a complete representation of his country. The reason why Goya’s body of work provides such a complete representation of his country. - A - B - C - D - E - F **答案**：A 原文定位：In the work of no other great portraitist are a nation's people, history, traumas, folk traditions, and superstitions so comprehensively and relentlessly captured;Put his work together;and what you have is a portrait in the round of Spain itself 同义替换：「complete representation」↔「comprehensively and relentlessly captured」；「country」↔「nation」 ### 16. A contrast between Goya's early work and his later, more mature style. A contrast between Goya's early work and his later, more mature style. - A - B - C - D - E - F **答案**：F 原文定位：The light rococo tones of his tapestry cartoons gave way to a richer, somber palette and a dramatic use of chiaroscuro 同义替换：「contrast」↔「gave way to」 ### 17. An explanation of why Goya was able to be so successful as a portrait painter. An explanation of why Goya was able to be so successful as a portrait painter. - A - B - C - D - E - F **答案**：E 原文定位：Part of the reason for his success was that;he did not resent portraiture;He embraced the genre as a means of exploring human character 同义替换：「why」↔「reason for」；「portrait painter」↔「portraiture」 ### 18. Reference to a specific artistic technique that Goya developed in his early career. Reference to a specific artistic technique that Goya developed in his early career. - A - B - C - D - E - F **答案**：B 原文定位：But in them, Goya practised poses and groupings and a way of handling light on and around figures that was to be invaluable 同义替换：「specific artistic technique」↔「handling light on and around figures」；「developed in」↔「practised」 ### 19. The claim that Goya’s final works moved away from depicting specific people. The claim that Goya’s final works moved away from depicting specific people. - A - B - C - D - E - F **答案**：G 原文定位：In this final phase, the portrait of Spain was no longer found in the faces of individuals, but in the tormented soul of its people 同义替换：「works」↔「phase」；「specific people」↔「individuals」；「moved away from depicting」↔「no longer found in the faces of」 ### 20. Goya's Tapestry Cartoons Before becoming a renowned portraitist, Goya created designs for tapestries after moving to Madrid. These cartoons did not feature true 20_____, Goya's Tapestry Cartoons Before becoming a renowned portraitist, Goya created designs for tapestries after moving to Madrid. These cartoons did not feature true 20_____, **答案**：portraits 原文定位：Although his designs don't show portraits, they do show types 同义替换：「did not feature true」↔「don't show」；「cartoons」↔「his designs」 ### 21. but instead depicted various social 21_____ . but instead depicted various social 21_____ . **答案**：roles 原文定位：The tapestry designs also show social roles rather than the people inhabiting them 同义替换：「depicted」↔「show」 ### 22. The artistic style of these works was light and rococo, and while the faces were distinctive, they were not of specific, identifiable people. However, these early projects were crucial as they allowed Goya to practise arranging figures and mastering the effect of 22_____ on his subjects. The artistic style of these works was light and rococo, and while the faces were distinctive, they were not of specific, identifiable people. However, these early projects were crucial as they allowed Goya to practise arranging figures and mastering the effect of 22_____ on his subjects. **答案**：light 原文定位：But in them, Goya practised poses and groupings and a way of handling light on and around figures that was to be invaluable 同义替换：「mastering」↔「handling」；「subjects」↔「figures」 ### 23. 23 Goya believed that his teaching role at the Royal Academy was more important than his work for the royal family. 23 Goya believed that his teaching role at the Royal Academy was more important than his work for the royal family. - TRUE - FALSE - NOT GIVEN **答案**：FALSE 原文定位：in 1785 he was made deputy director of painting at the Royal Academy (his main message to his students was subversive - 'there are no rules in painting') and in 1786 became pintor de cámara, required to paint 'works required for royal service 同义替换：「teaching role」↔「deputy director」；「work for the royal family」↔「royal service」 ### 24. 24 Robert Hughes believed that Goya balanced respect and truth in his portraits of authority figures. 24 Robert Hughes believed that Goya balanced respect and truth in his portraits of authority figures. - TRUE - FALSE - NOT GIVEN **答案**：TRUE 原文定位：In Robert Hughes's phrase, he did not 'pay reflexive homage to authority' but instead walked a fine line between respect and truth 同义替换：「balanced」↔「fine line between」；「authority figures」↔「monarchy」 ### 25. 25 Goya's illness directly caused him to change his subject matter from portraits to landscapes. 25 Goya's illness directly caused him to change his subject matter from portraits to landscapes. - TRUE - FALSE - NOT GIVEN **答案**：FALSE 原文定位：This commitment to psychological truth became even more pronounced following his near-fatal illness in 1793, which left him deaf;The light rococo tones;gave way to a richer, somber palette;there are no pure landscapes in Goya's work ### 26. 26 The 'Black Paintings' were originally intended for public display. 26 The 'Black Paintings' were originally intended for public display. - TRUE - FALSE - NOT GIVEN **答案**：FALSE 原文定位：These murals, painted directly onto the walls of his country house, are a far cry from the formal portraits of princes and dukes --- 以上内容由鸭圈雅思真题库（www.yaquan.site）提供，收录近期雅思考试真题回忆，支持在线机考模式免费练习。