Lot 76
76
GOYA Y LUCIENTES, Francisco José de (1746-1828). [Los Caprichos. Madrid: Real Academia, c.1855.]
GOYA Y LUCIENTES, Francisco José de (1746-1828). [Los Caprichos. Madrid: Real Academia, c.1855.]

Price realised GBP 37,250
Estimate
GBP 30,000 – GBP 40,000
Estimates do not reflect the final hammer price and do not include buyer's premium, and applicable taxes or artist's resale right. Please see Section D of the Conditions of Sale for full details.
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GOYA Y LUCIENTES, Francisco José de (1746-1828). [Los Caprichos. Madrid: Real Academia, c.1855.]

Price realised GBP 37,250
Price realised GBP 37,250
DetailsMore from
Details
GOYA Y LUCIENTES, Francisco José de (1746-1828). [Los Caprichos. Madrid: Real Academia, c.1855.]

4° (316 x 220mm). 80 plates engraved by Goya, including the self-portrait in a hat, all numbered and captioned. (A very few light and mostly marginal spots, a few plates very faintly yellowed.) Original illustrated boards, engraved portrait of Goya on the front board (spine ends chipped, corners rubbed, light scuffing and light soiling, neat splits in the text block).

SECOND EDITION OF GOYA'S CELEBRATED SUITE: THE EDITION LARGELY RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS FAME. Los Caprichos was first published in 1799, and not again until nearly 30 years after Goya's death. The first edition is thought to have sold less than 30 copies, and it is only through this second edition that a larger audience discovered Goya's engravings. Goya's work then quickly went through a further ten editions before the 20th century. Los Caprichos is central to our conception of Goya. The series exposes the vice and corruption that earned Goya's homeland the appellation 'Black Spain'; here Goya mocks the peasantry's superstitious beliefs, the arrogance of the nobility, and the widespread corruption of the Catholic Church. To avoid alienating powerful individuals at Court and to protect himself from the wrath of the Inquisition, the artist masked his satire by means of images that could inspire multiple interpretations. This subtle layering of meanings is one of the hallmarks of Goya's artistry. Los Caprichos ultimately became Goya's most popular and influential series; Domenico Tiepolo owned a set, as did Eugène Delacroix, who borrowed freely from Goya's images. 'The well-printed edition of ca. 1855 appears to have been very small. Except for the paper it is hardly inferior to the last impressions of the first edition' (Harris I, pp. 12, 109). Harris 36-115.

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