Francisco de Goya

Nor does it distinguish it

Clasificación
Nor does it distinguish it
Datos Generales
Cronología
Ca. 1797 - 1799
Dimensiones
200 x 150 mm
Técnica y soporte
Aguafuerte, aguatinta y punta seca
Reconocimiento de la autoría de Goya
Undisputed work
Ficha: realización/revisión
17 Nov 2010 / 29 May 2024
Inventario
225
Inscripciones

Ni así la distingue (at the bottom)

7 (in the upper right-hand corner)

 Goya (signed in the lower left-hand corner)

Historia

See Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Painter.

There is a state proof to which aquatint and drypoint have already been applied and on which it is written by hand, I can already perceive it. There is also a second state proof in which the definitive title of the engraving is written.

This print was preceded by two preparatory drawings in the Prado Museum. The first is a wash in Indian ink belonging to Album B and the second is a wash in Indian ink.

Análisis artístico

A maja dressed in black is being courted by a man standing next to her who approaches her and looks at her with a monocle. His posture and the expression on his face suggest his libidinous intentions as well as his somewhat incautious nature. Further back, seated in a chair, a woman can be seen holding a fan in one of her hands and gazing at her with an absorbed air. In the space between the man and the female figure, at waist level, a face appears, attentively observing the scene. The scene could be taking place in the open air; using aquatint, Goya has captured the sky in which a cloud hovers in the upper right corner of the print. He has also depicted the dark clothes of the maja with a profuse use of etching, which contrasts with the man's light clothes.

Ayala's manuscript states that this engraving represents that "to know what is, the eyeglass is not enough, judgement is needed". In the Prado Museum's manuscript it is noted that "How is she to be distinguished? To know what she is, the eyeglass is not enough, it needs judgement and practice of the world, and this is precisely what the poor gentleman lacks". Finally, the manuscript in the National Library indicates that "lustful men are so blinded that even with a lens they cannot distinguish that the lady they are giving as a gift is a harlot".

As in other engravings in this series, Goya makes a veiled allusion to prostitution and in this case also refers to the naivety of some men who are unable to distinguish when they are in the presence of a prostitute and when they are not. He courts her without realising that the woman's interest in the relationship is purely economic. The scene is being watched by an old woman in the background of the engraving who, in all likelihood, could be the procuress.

It is possible that one of the visual sources to which Goya may have had recourse for the characterisation of the types was Les Incroyables, which Louis Darcis engraved between 1796 and 1797 based on the work of Carle Vernet (Bordeaux, 1758-Paris, 1835). He may also have been familiar with an anonymous engraving produced in the late 18th century entitled The Petimetra in the Prado in Madrid (Madrid City Hall), of which the Aragonese painter may have made a distorted and critical version.

Conservación

The plate is preserved in the National Chalcography (no. 178).

Exposiciones
  • Goya. Gemälde Zeichnungen. Graphik. Tapisserien
    Kunsthalle Basel
    Basle
    1953
    from January 23th to April 12th 1953
  • Goya. Das Zeitalter der Revolucionen. Kunst um 1800 (1980 – 1981)
    Hamburger Kunsthalle
    Hamburg
    1980
  • 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
  • Francisco Goya. Capricci, follie e disastri della guerra
    San Donato Milanese
    2000
    Opere grafiche della Fondazione Antonio Mazzotta
  • Goya. La imagen de la mujer
    Museo Nacional del Prado
    Madrid
    2001
    from October 30th 2001 to February 10th 2002. Exhibitied also at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, March 10th to June 2nd 2002, consultant editor Francisco Calvo Serraller
  • 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
  • Agen
    2019
  • 2022
Bibliografía
  • HARRIS, Tomás
    Goya engravings and lithographs, vol. I y II.
    OxfordBruno Cassirer
    1964
    p.77, cat. 42
  • GASSIER, Pierre y WILSON, Juliet
    Vie et ouvre de Francisco de Goya
    ParísOffice du livre
    1970
    p.177, cat. 463
  • LAFUENTE FERRARI, Enrique
    El mundo de Goya en sus dibujos
    MadridUrbión
    1979
    pp. 25-26
  • WILSON BAREAU, Juliet
    Goya, la década de los caprichos: dibujos y aguafuertes
    MadridReal Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando
    1992
    p.156, cat. 128
  • SANTIAGO, Elena M. (coordinadora)
    Catálogo de las estampas de Goya en la Biblioteca Nacional
    MadridMinisterio de Educación y Cultura, Biblioteca Nacional
    1996
    p.156, 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.84-87
  • MENA MARQUÉS, Manuela B.
    Goya en tiempos de guerra
    MadridMuseo Nacional del Prado
    2008
    p.33, fig. 8
  • OROPESA, Marisa and RINCÓN GARCÍA, Wilfredo
    ParísPinacoteca de París
    2013
    p. 244
  • 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. 90
  • TORAL OROPESA, María and MARTÍN MEDINA, Víctor
    Museo de Bellas Artes de Badajoz y Diputación de Badajoz
    2022
    p. 31
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