This is a biography of the painter Francisco Jose de Goya (1746-1828) who went from being a portrait artist for royalty and the notables of his day to painting searing images embodying his wholehearted disapproval of the atrocities of his time. In the middle of his life, the artist had a relationship with the Duchess of Alba, who served as the model for a series of paintings, collectively called "The Majas," including a painting known as "The Naked Maja," which scandalized the society of the time. The film uses Goya's paintings as tableau, which come alive and bring us into the scene. Francisco Rabal is Goya, Irina Demick the Duchess of Alba. Interestingly, despite the scandal caused by her ancestress, the current Duchess of Alba gave her approval of and was present at the premier of the film.