Drawings and Prints of Francisco de Goya

Drawings and Prints of Francisco de Goya

Drawings and prints from a true master of the graphic arts: Francisco de Goya. He is considered to be an outstanding Spanish artist from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings – royal portraits, socio-historically critical themes and scandalous nudes – and his impressive graphics are still world-famous today. Goya’s famous graphic cycles such as the Caprichos or Tauromaquia attest to his outstanding talent in the realm of graphics, be it the technique of etching, aquatint, or in drawings. A selection of sheets from the collection of the Spanish National Library in Madrid offers a comprehensive inside look into this impressively diverse body of work!

The Variety of Themes

Warriors and wretched figures, impressive portraits and bleak landscapes, and female figures again and again in every possible pose and theme. This is only a rough overview of the variety of themes employed by Goya. The Spanish master of the graphic arts substantiated his outstanding talent in various famous graphic cycles. Among them are the Caprichos, the Desastres de la Guerra, or the Tauromaquia– the last concerns the theme of bullfighting. Numerous sheets from de Goya’s hand, one of the most important graphic collections in Spain, are stored in the collection of the Spanish National Library in Madrid.

Court Painter and Social Critic

Francisco de Goya (1746–1828) is considered to be one of the greatest artists in Spanish art history. He was an academy professor and finally court painter under Charles IV. As such, he completed countless famous portraits of the royal family, as well as carpet designs and altarpieces. He is purported to have had an affair with the Duchess of Alba, but this was never verified. Goya began to orient his artwork increasingly toward socio-critical themes in the 1790’s. Famous among them is the painting of The Third of May 1808, which is found today in the Museo del Prado in Madrid.

A Master of Graphic Art

Alongside his paintings, Goya is considered to be a master of the graphic arts. In addition to their high-quality, they are captivating above all due to the originality of their themes. The Caprichos, his first significant series of etchings, originated in the 1790’s, inter alia. Goya undertook a journey to Andalusia at that time, where he recorded various impressions and integrated them into his art. He spent some time in Sanlúcar with the Duchess of Alba, with whom he had a close relationship, which was also reflected in his (graphic) work.

Pages from Cycles and Single Sheets

The compendium of selected drawings and prints by de Goya contains, inter alia, a depiction of the Duchess of Alba as she ties her hair back. There are two known albums today that Goya made while in Sanlúcar. Additionally, here one finds the famous prisionera, the prisoners, and the depiction of the Dream of Lying and Inconsistency. Additional single sheets are included, the famous Colossus – the depiction of a giant sitting under a thin crescent moon amidst a wide, barren landscape – or the Camino de los Infiernos.

A High-Quality Overview

Dynamic dancers in fluttering, frilled dresses, an old hunchbacked woman, ominous landscapes, nudes, and more make up the compendium. Alongside light, washed drawings, one finds heavy, dark, and deeply perspectival etchings. The themes and techniques thus correspond with one another in a most refined manner. The variety of the graphics selected from Goya’s work makes this compendium a marvelous opportunity to familiarize oneself with the graphic works of this great Spanish master!