[1][2] He studied architecture in the École des Beaux-Arts and in 1856 became inspector of government buildings.

Some of his writings were published under the pseudonyms "Junior" and "Le Marquis de Villemer".

Yriarte challenged the prevailing notion that Goya's political canvases were mere depictions of 'facts' or specific events grounded in Verism.

Instead, he contended that these works represented 'general ideas, analogies, sometimes true, always believable compositions' (Yriate apud Luxemburg 1998).

Through Goya's deliberate placement of figures without heroic actions, immersed in a dream-like atmosphere of defeat, fear, and suffering, the painter skeptically conveyed a political perspective on life.