Goya Drawings and Prints

#

he National Library's collection of drawings and prints is the most important in Spain, both in terms of pure numbers and for the variety and wealth of the set as a whole. They are stored in the Engravings and Drawings Section, created in 1868, and the prints by Goya take pride of place.

Goya demonstrates in these etchings his extraordinary mastery of the etching and aquatint techniques in order to develop a highly original theme of social criticism, expressed amidst scenes of gallantry, clowning around and with craft.

In Goya's work, the decade of the 1790s has been referred to as the decade of "Los Caprichos" (The Whims), his first important series of engravings, as well as his first truly personal work at a time when the artist is once more travelling to Andalusia. After passing through Seville, Goya sets out for Sanlúcar, where he spends the summer with the recently widowed Duchess of Alba, some of whose intimacies appear in his work, a sign for some critics of the intensity of their relationship.

From this series, we have included some of the most significant works, such as the drawing of La Duquesa de Alba recogiéndose el pelo (The Duchess of Alba tying back her hair) which originally came from one of the two drawing albums known as the Sanlúcar albums or the engraving entitled La Prisionera (The Prisoner), a donation by Cristóbal Ferriz, a private collector, to the National Library's collection, or the engraving of Sueño de la Mentira y La Inconstancia (Lie's Dream and Inconstancy), for instance. We can also find here engravings not included in any series, such as El Coloso (The Colossus) or the lithograph Camino de los Infiernos (The Road to Hell), among others.

#