Francisco de Goya

Nobody knows each other

Clasificación
Nobody knows each other
Datos Generales
Cronología
Ca. 1797 - 1799
Dimensiones
219 x 153 mm
Técnica y soporte
Etching and burnished aquatint
Reconocimiento de la autoría de Goya
Undisputed work
Ficha: realización/revisión
17 Nov 2010 / 29 May 2024
Inventario
225
Inscripciones

Nadie se conoce. (at the bottom).

P.6 (upper right corner)

 

Historia

See Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Painter.

There are some state proofs that show an extraordinary use of aquatint. In one of them, the burnishing on the carnival hat, the sword of the figure in the centre and the ground can be clearly seen, as it is less heavily inked than the first printings of the editions.

A preparatory drawing in sanguine is kept in the Prado Museum.

Análisis artístico

On the right-hand side of the engraving we see a woman in profile wearing a mask over her face; she is smiling with a gesture of pleasure. In front of her, slightly reclining and standing at the level of her face, a figure also wearing a mask looks at her attentively. Behind her are other figures dressed in peculiar costumes; some of them are wearing large hats, and in the case of the one at the lower left and the one in the centre, their faces also appear to be covered by masks; his face is wearing a mask and he is smiling in a pleasant manner. In front of her, slightly reclining and standing at the level of her face, a figure also wearing a mask looks at her attentively. Behind her are other figures dressed in peculiar ways; some of them are wearing large hats, and in the case of the one at the lower left and the one in the centre, their faces also appear to be covered by masks.

It is a dark environment in which Goya uses aquatint to capture the young woman's clothing, the lightest part of the engraving. Much of the background is executed with very continuous, close etching strokes.

In Ayala's manuscript it is said of this work that "the world is a mask; the face, the costume and the voice are all feigned. An effeminate General presents madame with a gift in front of other cuckolds". The Prado Museum manuscript states that "the world is a mask, the face, the costume and the voice are all faked; everyone wants to pretend to be something they are not, everyone is deceived and no one knows each other". Finally, the manuscript in the National Library notes that "an effeminate general or disguised as a woman at a party is asking a good girl for it; he lets himself be known by the embroidery on his sleeve; the husbands are behind, and instead of hats, they appear with tremendous horns like a unicorn. If he covers himself well, he comes out straight; if he doesn't, he comes out crooked".

The most powerful aspect of this image is the ambiguity that does not allow us to discern whether the figure in the foreground, who is gazing at the woman, is a man or not. This vagueness is accentuated by the use of the masks which, contrary to what one might think, do not conceal the identity of the wearer, but reveal his true nature. This is precisely what Goya does in the Caprice no. 2, Yes they pronounce and the hand they lengthen, in which the woman wears a mask on the back of her head that describes some aspects of her character.

Carnival and masked balls are present in many of Goya's works; it is a festival that had an important tradition in Madrid at the end of the 18th century. It was a common practice among some of the most important aristocratic figures, such as the Duchess of Alba, who held costume parties famous for their sumptuousness. The importance of this type of festivities was such that even the masks were made by some of the most famous artists of the time.

This print is strongly influenced by Venetian painting, especially the Capricci by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Venice, 1696-Madrid, 1770) in which some of the characters seem to have been taken from the Commedia dell'Arte, as is also the case in the Goyaesque engraving.

Conservación

The plate is fairly well preserved, although the etching is weakened ( Nacional Chalcography, no. 177).

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. Das Zeitalter der Revolucionen. Kunst um 1800 (1980 – 1981)
    Hamburger Kunsthalle
    Hamburg
    1980
  • 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
  • Francisco Goya. Capricci, follie e disastri della guerra
    San Donato Milanese
    2000
    Opere grafiche della Fondazione Antonio Mazzotta
  • 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
  • Madrid
    2017
  • Hamburg
    2019
  • 2022
Bibliografía
  • HARRIS, Tomás
    Goya engravings and lithographs, vol. I y II.
    OxfordBruno Cassirer
    1964
    cat. 41, p.76
  • GASSIER, Pierre y WILSON, Juliet
    Vie et ouvre de Francisco de Goya
    ParísOffice du livre
    1970
    p.176, cat. 461
  • LAFUENTE FERRARI, Enrique
    El mundo de Goya en sus dibujos
    MadridUrbión
    1979
    pp. 18-19
  • GLENDINNING, Nigel (Comisario)
    La década de los Caprichos. Retratos 1792-1804
    MadridReal Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando
    1992
    p.156, cat. 129
  • MENA, Manuela B. y WILSON-BAREAU, Juliet (comisarias)
    Goya. El capricho y la invención. Cuadros de gabinete, bocetos y miniaturas
    MadridMuseo del Prado
    1993
    p.46, fig. 22
  • SANTIAGO, Elena M. (coordinadora)
    Catálogo de las estampas de Goya en la Biblioteca Nacional
    MadridMinisterio de Educación y Cultura, Biblioteca Nacional
    1996
    p.77, cat. 94
  • 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.80-83
  • OROPESA, Marisa and RINCÓN GARCÍA, Wilfredo
    ParísPinacoteca de París
    2013
    p. 192
  • WILSON BAREAU, Juliet
    Goya. In the Norton Simon Museum
    PasadenaNorton Simon Museum
    2016
    pp. 42-75
  • CALVO RUATA, José Ignacio, BORRÁS GUALIS, Gonzalo M. and MARTÍNEZ HERRANZ, Amparo
    ZaragozaGobierno de Aragón y Fundación Bancaria Ibercaja
    2017
    p. 267
  • TACK, Ifee and PISOT, Sandra
    HamburgHirmer
    2019
    p. 245
  • TORAL OROPESA, María and MARTÍN MEDINA, Víctor
    Museo de Bellas Artes de Badajoz y Diputación de Badajoz
    2022
    p. 30
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