Francisco de Goya

Even his grandfather

Clasificación
Even his grandfather
Datos Generales
Cronología
Ca. 1797 - 1799
Dimensiones
214 x 150 mm
Técnica y soporte
Aguatinta
Reconocimiento de la autoría de Goya
Undisputed work
Ficha: realización/revisión
13 Dec 2010 / 29 May 2024
Inventario
225
Inscripciones

Asta su Abuelo. (at the bottom)

 39. (in the upper right-hand corner)

Historia

See Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Painter.

Only a pre-print proof is known with the handwritten title, Hasta el treinta abuelo In the end, a shorter and more incisive title, was chosen for the final print.

Three preparatory drawings of this engraving have survived  (1), (2) and (3).

Análisis artístico

In the centre of the composition is a donkey in costume, looking at the viewer. On a lectern in front of him is a book with rows of donkeys, as if it were his family tree. Beneath the book is a coat of arms with a donkey in the field. In the background, between the book and the donkey, the silhouette of an owl can be seen.

In this engraving Goya used only aquatint without resorting to etching. This demonstrates his considerable skill in the use of this technique, with which he creates the outline of the animal, the background and the details that can be seen in the print.

The manuscripts on The Caprices agree that it is a donkey trying to demonstrate its noble origins. In this way Goya was criticising the widespread practice among the aristocracy during the 18th century of seeking the origins of their noble titles. This activity was, in many cases, the most important occupation they had, as they often had no work at all.

One of the sources of inspiration for this print could be the work by Primo F. Martínez de Ballesteros (Logroño, 1745-Saint Esprit, 1830)Memoirs of the Insigne Asnal Academy in which he openly mocked the Spanish Royal Academy and the people who were strongly attached to the past who were at the forefront of the country's culture at the time. It is also possible that Goya was also familiar with The learned donkey. Original fable, a posthumous work by an anonymous poet published in 1782 by Juan Pablo Forner (Mérida, 1756-Madrid, 1797) and one of José Cadalso's Cartas Marruecas (1789). In it the following was said: "Hereditary nobility is vanity, which I base on the fact that eight hundred years before my birth one died who was called as I am called, and was a man of profit, although I am useless for everything".

Ayala's manuscript notes in brackets that this image could be a clear reference to Manuel Godoy (Badajoz, 1767-Paris, 1851), possibly because the Extremaduran had his family tree drawn up in search of noble ancestors. In the end he obtained a debatable descent from Gothic kings and, through his marriage to María Teresa de Borbón, ended up being related to the royal family itself.

Both the donkey and the owl, present in this engraving, appear frequently in many of Goya's works and form part of his personal iconography. The donkey in the so-called "asnerías", i.e. the prints of donkeys from 38 to 42 in the series of The Caprices, refer to ignorance. The owl that alludes to foolishness could have been taken from the emblem Fatuitas by Andrea Alciato (Alzano, Milan, 1492 - Pavia, 1550) in which this concept is symbolised precisely by this animal.

Conservación

The plate is preserved in the National Chalcography (no.  210).

Exposiciones
  • Goya. Gemälde Zeichnungen. Graphik. Tapisserien
    Kunsthalle Basel
    Basle
    1953
    from January 23th to April 12th 1953
  • El arte de Goya
    Museo de Arte Occidental de Tokio
    Tokyo
    1971
    from 16th 1971 to January 23th 1972. Exhibited also at the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, January 29th to March 15th 1972.
  • Goya y el espíritu de la Ilustración
    Museo Nacional del Prado
    Madrid
    1988
    from October 6th to December 18th 1988. Exhibited also at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, January 18th to March 26th 1989; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Nueva York, May 9th to July 16th 1989, Madrid curator Manuela B. Mena Marqués, scientific directors Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez and Eleanor A. Sayre
  • Goya. La década de Los Caprichos
    Madrid
    1992
    organized by Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando sponsored by Fundación Central Hispano, Madrid, consultant editor Nigel Glendinnig. From October 26th 1992 to January 10th 1993
  • Francisco de Goya
    Museo d'Arte Moderna
    Lugano
    1996
    exhibition celebrated from September 22nd to November 17th.
  • Ydioma universal: Goya en la Biblioteca Nacional
    Biblioteca Nacional
    Madrid
    1996
    from September 19th to December 15th 1996
  • Francisco Goya. Sein leben im spiegel der graphik. Fuendetodos 1746-1828 Bordeaux. 1746-1996
    Galerie Kornfeld
    Bern
    1996
    from November 21st 1996 to January 1997
  • Goya artista de su tiempo y Goya artista único
    The National Museum of Western Art
    Tokyo
    1999
    from December 1st to July 3th 1999
  • Goya e la tradizione italiana
    Fondazione Magnani Rocca
    Mamiano di Traversetolo (Parma)
    2006
    consultant editors Fred Licht and Simona Tosini Pizzetti. From September 9th to December 3th 2006
  • Goya. Opera grafica
    Pinacoteca del Castello di San Giorgio
    Legnano
    2006
    exhibition celebrated from December 16th 2006 to April 1st 2007
  • Goya luces y sombras
    CaixaForum
    Barcelona
    2012
    consultant editors José Manuel Matilla and Manuela B. Marqués. From March 16th to June 24th 2012
  • Goya et la modernité
    Pinacothèque de Paris
    París
    2013
    from October 11st 2013 to March 16th 2014
  • Hamburg
    2019
Bibliografía
  • HARRIS, Tomás
    Goya engravings and lithographs, vol. I y II.
    OxfordBruno Cassirer
    1964
    p.111, cat. 74
  • GASSIER, Pierre y WILSON, Juliet
    Vie et ouvre de Francisco de Goya
    ParísOffice du livre
    1970
    p.180, cat. 526
  • WILSON BAREAU, Juliet
    Goya, la década de los caprichos: dibujos y aguafuertes
    MadridReal Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando
    1992
    pp.211-216, cat. 124-128
  • BLANCO MOZO, José Luis
    La hidalguía de Goya. Nuevos documentos y una hipótesis sobre Capricho 39
    Boletín del Museo e Instituto Camón Aznar
    ZaragozaIbercaja
    1995
    pp.37-60
  • SANTIAGO, Elena M. (coordinadora)
    Catálogo de las estampas de Goya en la Biblioteca Nacional
    MadridMinisterio de Educación y Cultura, Biblioteca Nacional
    1996
    p.94, cat. 128
  • BLAS BENITO, Javier, MATILLA RODRÍGUEZ, José Manuel y MEDRANO, José Miguel
    El libro de los caprichos: dos siglos de interpretaciones (1799-1999). Catálogo de los dibujos, pruebas de estado, láminas de cobre y estampas de la primera edición
    MadridMuseo Nacional del Prado
    1999
    pp.220-225
  • POU, Anna
    Francisco Goya. Los Caprichos
    BarcelonaEdiciones de la Central
    2011
    pp.16-17
  • MATILLA, José Manuel and MENA, Manuela B.
    MadridFundación bancaria “la Caixa” y Museo Nacional del Prado
    2012
    pp. 154-155
  • OROPESA, Marisa and RINCÓN GARCÍA, Wilfredo
    ParísPinacoteca de París
    2013
    p. 206
  • WILSON BAREAU, Juliet
    Goya. In the Norton Simon Museum
    PasadenaNorton Simon Museum
    2016
    pp. 42-75
  • TACK, Ifee and PISOT, Sandra
    HamburgHirmer
    2019
    p. 293
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