Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes,
 
Spanish 1746-1828-
 
The four...

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes,

Spanish 1746-1828-

The four supplementary plates from the series Los Proverbios, also called Les Disparates: 1. Que Guerrero; 2. Una Reina del Circo; 3. Otras leyes por el pueblo; 4. Lluvia de Toros;

etchings with aquatint in grey-black on laid paper, first printed by Francois Liénard in the publication LArt, Paris in 1877, each 26.2 x 37.3cm, [Harris 266-269, each III/of III], [Delteil 220-223], Engraved title and inscription on the lower margins: Goya inv. et sc., L'Art, Fcois Liénard Imp. Paris., four (4).

Note: Goya created his final and most enigmatic print series between 1815 and 1824. Forty years passed before their publication in 1864. These four supplementary plates were then first issued in 1877. The series was published under the title Los Proverbios, although Goya's own captions for the working proofs include the word 'disparates', meaning 'follies', and so the series is known by both titles. The proverbs assigned to each plate were added upon publication.

Even with titles, the meanings of Los Proverbios remain ambiguous. Like Goya's "black" paintings, begun in 1819 after his recovery from a serious illness and filled with macabre visions, the plates are imbued with an overwhelming sense of pessimism and appear to reflect Goya's precarious mental state at the time. Although the subject matter in this series is varied, the level of quality is constant. Goya's expert use of contour, line density, and tonal variation in weaving his dark visions clearly evidence his extraordinary abilities as a master printmaker.