Francisco de Goya

What disease will he die of?

Clasificación
What disease will he die of?
Datos Generales
Cronología
Ca. 1797 - 1799
Dimensiones
216 x 152 mm
Técnica y soporte
Aguafuerte, aguatinta bruñida, punta seca y buril
Reconocimiento de la autoría de Goya
Undisputed work
Ficha: realización/revisión
14 Dec 2010 / 29 May 2024
Inventario
225
Inscripciones

De que mal morira? (at the bottom)40. (in the upper right-hand corner)

Historia

See Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Painter.

In the first printings the title appears without a question mark until the error was corrected.

Two preparatory drawings for this engraving have survived (1) and (2).

Análisis artístico

A donkey dressed in a suit takes care of a dying man who has his mouth ajar, as if he were in agony. He grasps the man's wrist with his hoof on which an ostentatious ring can be seen. The animal seems to be really concentrating on what he is doing, his expression is serious and meditative, although he has not removed the jewel that could prevent him from carrying out his task properly. In the background, Goya has depicted the shadows of two figures awaiting the doctor's verdict for the sick man who has little chance of overcoming his illness.

The manuscript in the National Library provides a clear and concise reading of this engraving, which reads as follows: "It is not necessary to ask what ailment the sick person who pays attention to beastly and ignorant doctors has died of".

Francisco Gómez de Quevedo (Madrid, 1580 - Villanueva de los Infantes, 1645) had already pointed out the lack of training with which doctors approached their profession in his Sueño, Visita de los Chistes: "(...) dealing more with mules than with Doctors, they graduated as Doctors". Somewhat further on, he insists: "If these others are made of these, it is not much that these others will unmake us".

The 18th century was a time of great advances in medicine. It was precisely at this time that figures such as the Englishman William Cullen (Hamilton, Lanarkshire, 1710-Edinburgh, 1790) and the Danish Hermann Boerhaave (Voorhout, 1668-Leiden, 1738) emerged. In Spain, the contributions of Andrés Piquer y Arrufat (Fórnoles, 1711-Madrid, 1772) should be highlighted. In addition, during the reign of Charles III, in 1771, the medical teaching at the University of Salamanca was revised and updated on the basis of Boerhaave's contributions.

In this engraving Goya lashes out harshly against doctors and the ignorant, but also against the imprudence of those who put themselves in their hands. Thus, the title of the print questions whether the cause of death was the illness or the incompetence of the doctor.

In some cases this image has been interpreted as a veiled reference to Manuel Godoy (Badajoz, 1767 - Paris, 1851) and the nefarious manner in which he governed the country.

This engraving forms part of the group of prints known as "asnerías", between 37 and 42, in which the images feature donkeys that serve to censure human stupidity.

Conservación

The plate has a scratch on the upper part from the first edition (National Chalcography, no. 211).

Exposiciones
  • Goya dans les collections suisses
    Fundación Pierre Gianadda
    Martigny
    1982
    consultant editor Pierre Gassier. From June 12th to August 29th 1982
  • 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.
  • 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 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 et la modernité
    Pinacothèque de Paris
    París
    2013
    from October 11st 2013 to March 16th 2014
Bibliografía
  • HARRIS, Tomás
    Goya engravings and lithographs, vol. I y II.
    Bibliography']['number
    OxfordBruno Cassirer
    1964
    p.112, cat. 75
  • GASSIER, Pierre y WILSON, Juliet
    Vie et ouvre de Francisco de Goya
    Bibliography']['number
    ParísOffice du livre
    1970
    p.181, cat. 529
  • WILSON BAREAU, Juliet
    Goya, la década de los caprichos: dibujos y aguafuertes
    Bibliography']['number
    MadridReal Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando
    1992
    pp.228-231, cat. 136-138
  • SANTIAGO, Elena M. (coordinadora)
    Catálogo de las estampas de Goya en la Biblioteca Nacional
    Bibliography']['number
    MadridMinisterio de Educación y Cultura, Biblioteca Nacional
    1996
    p.95, cat. 129
  • 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
    Bibliography']['number
    MadridMuseo Nacional del Prado
    1999
    pp.226-229
  • POU, Anna
    Francisco Goya. Los Caprichos
    Bibliography']['number
    BarcelonaEdiciones de la Central
    2011
    pp.46-47
  • OROPESA, Marisa and RINCÓN GARCÍA, Wilfredo
    Bibliography']['number
    ParísPinacoteca de París
    2013
    p. 207
  • WILSON BAREAU, Juliet
    Goya. In the Norton Simon Museum
    Bibliography']['number
    PasadenaNorton Simon Museum
    2016
    pp. 42-75
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