Saturn Devouring His Son

The Framework of Interpretation

 

“I see only forms that are lit up and forms that are not. There is only light and shadow,” said Francisco as he explained how he uses his eyes to understand and paint the world.

 

Saturn Devouring His Son is an oil-to-mural painting by Spanish Romantic Francisco de Goya, painted circa 1823. During the middle of his life, Goya established himself as a successful and royally positioned artist, painting portraits for Spain’s King Charles III and King Charles IV (Art In Context, 2022). In his homeland, Spain, the people adored him due to his art. However, during the Peninsula War, he went through an unexpected revolution. He contracted a mysterious illness, leaving him deaf, and had already lost five out of his six children and his wife. Therefore, he began painting in a more personal manner. His art became satiric, like in “Los Caprichos,” and a critic of war through “The Disasters of War” (Payne, 2022). After Ferdinand VII, Charles III’s grandson, became King of Spain, Goya left for the Spanish countryside, as his relationship with the Spanish government and his country was ruined due to the direction his art had taken. Therefore, as Goya tried to comprehend the atrocities of life, he created The Black Paintings, a series of fourteen pictures painted on the walls of his new home, La Quinta del Sordo (The House of the Deaf Man). Saturn Devouring His Son belongs to this collection (Payne, 2022).

 

Saturn Devouring His Son depicts the Greek myth of the Titan Kronos. The myth tells how Kronos, the leader of the first generation of Titans, discovered a prophecy telling how one of his children would kill and dethrone him. Therefore, whenever his wife, Rhea, gave birth to a new child, he would eat them to keep the prophecy unfulfilled and remain in power. The myth explores the lengths one can go to retain power, and this topic was of interest to Goya due to Spain’s political and social situation. Similarly to Saturn Devouring His Son, Goya explored similar topics through The Black Paintings, as all of these studied the bleakness and darkness of humanity (Takac, 2023).

 

When looking at this painting, the audience can see Saturn taking up almost the whole space, leaving a black frame around him to make him the focal point. Proportionally, Saturn is much larger than the human he is devouring, increasing the horror. Moreover, to enhance the impact of Saturn’s actions, the use of neutral colours, like black, brown, and grey, contrasts with the redness and whiteness of the human and Saturn’s grip on them, bringing the audience’s eye to the blood and lifeless colour of the body. However, these colours and the hastily applied brushstrokes eventually lead the audience’s attention to Saturn’s face, as they realise he is in utter shock due to his realisation of the brutally horrifying, paralysing act he is committing. Saturn knows what he is doing as he feels the blood and lifeless body in his grip, but whether he wants to stop or not, his need to remain in power has already made him go too far.

 

After researching Goya’s life and the myth of Kronos, we can interpret Saturn Devouring His Son as an attempt to contextualise the Greek myth within Spain’s current political and social status. The painting is Goya’s attempt to evoke how the fatherland has consumed its children through wars and revolutions, as it has remained steadily on a path that they hoped would bring the desired outcome despite knowing its brutal consequences on its citizens: its children. Saturn Devouring His Son’s story is a psychological thriller, as it tells of the brutally horrifying, paralysing inevitability an uncontrolled thirst for power can lead to. Hence, the painting expresses how paranoia can consume the power-thirsty, making them opt for the most unthinkable, unimaginable decisions to keep holding power.

 

The Creative Process

 

To narrate Saturn Devouring His Son’s story and emotions, I had to decide on the piece’s ensemble and structure carefully. As established, the painting is a psychological thriller. It tells the story of the lengths one can go to retain power and the paranoia that can poison us when losing it. Therefore, after researching and finding references, I composed a Rondo for a String Quartet to depict the painting.

 

Structurally, the piece is a Rondo, a musical form from the Classical Period. It contains a principal theme that alternates with various episodes. The purpose is to create a sense of internal battle, where creeping thoughts and paranoia slowly drive Saturn to act to hold his power.

 

Instrumentally, the piece is composed of a String Quartet. It is comprised of a first and second violin, a viola, and a cello. The purpose is to generate a sound that is both intimate and has the versatility to burst within that intimacy, creating a unified timbre as they belong to the same family of instruments.

 

Harmonically, the piece is in G minor throughout. However, to break the comfort a single key provides, it borrows notes and chords from relative scales. The purpose is to create a sense of discomfort, where little snippets penetrate the piece where they should not, like the paranoia in our minds.

 

Rhythmically, the piece plays with various time signatures. The principal theme relies on 5/4, which has an extra beat compared to the common 4/4. The purpose is to slightly make the audience feel out of place, being able to follow a beat but unsure of when bars change, making the rhythm fragile.

 

Melodically, the piece complements and contrasts melodic ideas through the principal theme and the episodes. The purpose is to slowly develop the paranoia and the inevitable realisation of the brutally horrifying, paralysing realisation of Saturn’s actions.

 

The Purpose of the Composition

 

Like the whole project, the purpose of this composition is to explore Saturn Devouring His Son’s story and emotions through music. However, the project inevitably sparks the creation of pieces that reflect a story the audience can relate to. Therefore, beyond telling Saturn Devouring His Son’s story through music, the piece is a reminder of the dark side of humanity. Even on a smaller scale, power and control are things we all face, and it is undeniable that we all have some darkness within. However, unlike Saturn, when we feel that paranoia is setting in, we must learn to click pause and stop the music that is leading us forward. We must stop before we are hit with a realisation of the horrors we have done. So, although the painting explores it in an extreme way, as Spain’s political and social situation severely impacted Goya, along with his deteriorating mental health, it helps us be aware of the events humanity has faced. Most importantly, it incites an intriguing prompt: if such darkness exists, indeed, an opposite force, too. Sometimes, like in this painting, darkness and light are not balanced. However, beyond its purpose, the painting is a reminder that when such darkness exists, an equal level of light does, too. As Francis Bacon said, “In order for the light to shine so brightly, darkness must be present”.

 

Bibliography

 

Art In Context. (2022). ‘Saturn Devouring One of His Sons’ by Francisco Goya - A Study. [online] Art In Context. Available at: https://artincontext.org/saturn-devouring-one-of-his-sons-by-francisco-goya/.

 

du Plessis, A. (2012). Saturn Devouring His Children. [online] An Introduction to 19th Century Art. Available at: https://www.19thcenturyart-facos.com/artwork/saturn-devouring-his-children.

 

Payne, J. (2022). The Black Paintings by Goya (Part One): Great Art Explained. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JqS6HfsYIM.

 

‌Payne, J. (2022). The Black Paintings by Goya (Part Two): Great Art Explained. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XERSI8avqQQ.

 

Takac, B. (2023). Inside Francisco Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son. [online] Widewalls. Available at: https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/saturn-devouring-his-son.