Philosopher Immanuel Kant defined the Enlightenment, an 18th century intellectual movement, as “man’s emergence from his self-imposed…inability to use…understanding without another’s guidance” (Jacob 203). Kant argues that there are two ways to use Enlightened reasoning: public use and private use. The former, which is the public expression of one’s view, is acceptable. Private use of reasoning, which occurs when one questions their occupation or obligation to society (such as upholding the law or paying taxes) to the point of disobedience, should be restricted according to Kant (Jacob 205). A good example of someone who adhered to Kant’s view on Enlightenment is the Spanish painter Francisco Goya. Goya eventually became a royal painter, but his first employment at the court, beginning in 1775, was to paint sketches for royal tapestries. The process of creating tapestries eliminated the detailed side of sketches, something Goya was able to exploit. He began adding subtle social criticisms to his work while producing paintings that would still lead to perfectly acceptable and uncontroversial tapestries. In a sense, Goya was communicating his condemnations of society without allowing his perspectives to influence the final product. The painting pictured above, titled The Wedding, is one such instance of Goya “voicing” his critiques. In it, Goya depicts a seemingly merry scene of a bride and husband exiting a church following their wedding. Closer examination, however, reveals the tragedy of the whole situation. The bride, who is young and beautiful, stands in stark contrast to the husband, who is older and ugly (which Goya uses to convey his immorality). Behind them, the father of the bride, dressed in green, finalizes his daughter’s sale to the husband by giving the local priest his share of the money.
Jacob, Margaret C. The Enlightenment: A Brief History with Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, Macmillan Learning, 2017.