In Francisco de Goya and the Art of Critique (Zone, 2022), Anthony Cascardi (Comparative Literature, Spanish & Portuguese, and Rhetoric) probes the relationship between the extraordinary and sometimes baffling body of Goya’s work, and the interconnected issues of modernity, Enlightenment, and critique. Taking exception to conventional views that rely mainly on Goya’s darkest images to establish his relevance for modernity, Cascardi argues that the entirety of Goya’s work is engaged in a thoroughgoing critique of the modern social and historical worlds.

He is joined by C.D. Blanton (English and Critical Theory Program).