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When Francisco de Goya was called to Madrid by Raphael Mengs to work at the service of the court, the painter had two concerns, one of a professional nature and the other in the family sphere. The first, logically, had to do with his qualities: he was a young artist from the provinces, with a talent superior to that of his contemporaries, who had the possibility of prospering, winning the favor of his employers and consolidating his career, something he achieved with genius honors and with the prize of immortality. But Goya also had a personal, much more intimate affair that would have remained practically unknown if it were not for the fact that he expressed it in writing in his letters.addressed to his good friend Martín Zapater, happily preserved and which have allowed us to obtain, afterwards, a more complete human portrait of the painter.

That concern consisted of the well-being of his mother, Gracia Lucientes, whom he had left behind in Zaragoza, and also that of his brother Camilo, whom he regarded as the most beloved of the five he had. Camilo had been born in 1752, and was the youngest; he had survived Mariano, the brother born just after Francisco de Goya, and who died as a child. That fraternal gap between Francisco and Camilo made the older brother charged a particular affection the baby of the family, who was very young he decided to lead a religious life and begin studies at the seminary to become a priest.

Goya's self-portrait, exhibited at the Prado Museum.

Goya traveled to Madrid in 1775, when he was 29 years old and his brother Camilo, who had already begun his theological studies at the University of Zaragoza, 23. He would receive the tonsure - the first step prior to priestly studies, which he continued to study - year later, and that divergence of paths, from what appears in his correspondence, saddened Goya. His occupations in court prevented him from returning to Zaragoza regularly, so as soon as he began to win the favor of some noble and politicians of the court, he did his best to obtain the transfer of Camilo to Madrid and, if possible, also the from his mother, whom he missed.

Goya's artistic talent and diplomatic ability were rewarded, at least as far as Camilo is concerned. He made friends with the Count of Floridablanca, whom he painted his portrait when he was Secretary of State of Carlos III, and also with the Infante Luis de Borbón, who would finally be the intercessor in favor of Goya and his claim from 1783, when He was one of the most precious artists in Madrid. At that time, Camilo Goya had the aspiration to complete his studies in Toledo, although his process of ordination as a priest went through a faster channel. From that date he moved to the capital and lived with his brother for a time, and within a few months he obtained all the necessary qualifications to be ordained. In 1784 had passed all the exams, he finished his retreat and quickly rose to subdiácono a deacon and then a priest.

The Plaza Mayor de Chinchón. In the background, the parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, where Camilo was.

At age 30, at an age when most religious aspirants had not yet completed their formative cycle, Camilo had already completed all the studies necessary to enter a parish and practice as a chaplain; Of course, the suspicion that there was favorable treatment is evident. He did it in Chinchón , relatively close to Madrid, which allowed Francisco de Goya to keep in touch with his brother and visit him often. He came to have a house in that town, and he also worked in pictorial works, one of which is preserved in the parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Chinchón, hence the magnificent work that appears behind the altar is known as La Asunción of Our Lady, or The Assumption of the Virgin, completed in 1812.

Camilo's life was placid, discreet and religious. He gained the benefit of being able to travel outside the parish regularly, and was able to maintain contact with his brother; those are all his remarkable facts. He died in 1828, at the age of 66, just five months after Francisco de Goya died. The union was close until the end, and in his will , written a few years before its end, he had decided to bequeath his few assets - a modest amount of money and church objects - to his nephew Francisco Javier, Goya's youngest son. .

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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