Francisco de Goya

The old woman and the gallant

Clasificación
The old woman and the gallant
Datos Generales
Cronología
Ca. 1797 - 1798
Dimensiones
215 x 150 mm
Técnica y soporte
Etching and burnished aquatint
Reconocimiento de la autoría de Goya
Undisputed work
Ficha: realización/revisión
19 Jan 2011 / 21 Jun 2023
Inventario
225
Historia

See Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Painter.

This proof was bound at the end of an early copy of the first edition of The Caprices.

It is not known how this work came to be in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris.

Análisis artístico

In the centre of the scene, a haggard-faced old woman in a pompous dress holds out her hand to a handsome young man who bows to her. The young man's face, which shows a gesture of displeasure, turns towards the viewer. In the background, on the left, there is a man with his arms crossed over his chest and his head turned upwards, with a strange gesture on his face, perhaps mocking the woman whose back is turned to him.

This print is executed with a single-tone aquatint that contrasts with the illuminated areas. Thanks to the burnisher, half-tones are achieved in the old woman's dress and those of her companions. Goya used etching to define the figures, create their clothing and create a shaded area on the right side of the print.

This unique proof, which is not included in the published series of Los Caprichos, has been related to Capricho no. 55, Until Death, as both depict an elegantly dressed old woman. The analogies between the figure in the present engraving and Queen Maria Luisa of Parma are more than obvious, and it is possible that the man bowing to her could be Manuel Godoy and the one in the background could be Charles IV. It is likely that the painter thought of including this engraving in the series but later decided to remove it because of the explicitness of the criticism and the ease with which the characters being satirized could be identified. He would thus have replaced it with No. 55, Until Death.

Exposiciones
  • 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
  • Agen
    2019
  • Expérience Goya
    Lille
    2021
Bibliografía
  • ADHÉMAR, Jean
    Les Caprices de Goya
    ParísF. Hazan
    1948
    s/p
  • SÁNCHEZ CANTÓN, Francisco Javier
    Los Caprichos de Goya y sus dibujos preparatorios
    BarcelonaInstituto Amatller de Arte Hispánico
    1949
    s/p
  • HARRIS, Tomás
    Goya engravings and lithographs, vol. I y II.
    OxfordBruno Cassirer
    1964
    p.161, cat. 118
  • GASSIER, Pierre y WILSON, Juliet
    Vie et ouvre de Francisco de Goya
    ParísOffice du livre
    1970
    p.185, cat. 618
  • GLENDINNING, Nigel
    Imaginación de Goya: nuevas fuentes para algunos de sus dibujos y pinturas
    MadridCSIC
    1976
    pp.282-284
  • LAFUENTE FERRARI, Enrique
    Los Caprichos de Goya
    col. Serie punto y línea
    BarcelonaGustavo Gili
    1977
    p.202
  • WILSON BAREAU, Juliet
    Goya, la década de los caprichos: dibujos y aguafuertes
    MadridReal Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando
    1992
    pp.290-291, cat. 177
  • 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.402-403
  • WILSON BAREAU, Juliet
    Goya. In the Norton Simon Museum
    PasadenaNorton Simon Museum
    2016
    pp. 42-75
  • MOTTIN, Bruno, EFEDAQUE, Adrien and WILSON-BAREU, Juliet
    AgenSnoeck
    2019
    p. 92
  • COTENTIN, Régis
    Expérience Goya (cat. expo)
    LilleRéunion des Musées Nationaux
    2021
    p. 128
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