MADRID -- Acclaimed Czech director Milos Forman is to direct a film about Spanish grand master Francisco de Goya starring Javier Bardem and Natalie Portman, focusing on one of Spain's most bloody chapters, the Inquisition.

"Goya's Ghosts" tells the story of the last years of the Spanish Inquisition, when the Church tortured and executed suspected Jews, as told by the painter, played by Stellan Skarsgard.

Portman plays Goya's muse Ines, falsely accused of heresy, while Bardem plays a sinister monk, Brother Lorenzo, the film production company said Wednesday.

Goya (1746-1828), considered one of the fathers of modern art, was a bold and prolific court painter who continued working until he was 82.

His uncompromising attitude in depicting his time, which included Napoleon's invasion of Spain, has long made him a subject of fascination. There have been several films about his life, including one by renowned Spanish director Carlos Saura.

The film is Forman's first directing project since 1999's "Man on the Moon" and filming is due to start in September.

It is also Bardem's first major venture since starring in Alejandro Amenebar's 2005 Oscar-winning film "The Sea Inside."

The film earned the Spaniard the best actor prize at the Venice film festival for his role as a paraplegic fighting for his right to die.

Forman's Goya film is also backed by a clutch of renowned cinema veterans. It will be produced by Saul Zaentz, who worked on the Oscar-sweeping Amadeus directed by Forman 20 years ago, and also produced "The English Patient," another Oscar-winner.

The script is a collaboration between the Czech director and Jean Claude Carriere, who worked frequently with Spanish film maestro Luis Bunuel, most notably on "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" and "Belle de Jour."