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Templum Fine Art Auctions

98 - FRANCISCO JOSÉ DE GOYA Y LUCIENTES (Fuendetodos, Zaragoza, 1…
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Estimate €250 - €500
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Description
FRANCISCO JOSÉ DE GOYA Y LUCIENTES (Fuendetodos, Zaragoza, 1746 – Bordeaux, 1828) - Essays (Los Caprichos, No. 60) Etching on paper. From the eleventh edition printed by the National Chalcography from the original plates. Image dimensions: 29 x 23 cm. Paper dimensions: 39 x 33 cm. This print corresponds to Capricho No. 60 from the celebrated series Los Caprichos, published by Francisco de Goya in 1799 and considered one of the seminal works in the history of European printmaking. Under the title ‘Essays’, the artist creates one of the most unsettling and symbolic images in the entire series. The composition depicts two nude female figures interacting with a large male goat, whilst various elements scattered in the foreground—including a cat, a skull and objects associated with magical practices—reinforce the fantastical and allegorical nature of the scene. As in other prints in the series, Goya draws on the world of witchcraft and superstition as a vehicle for a scathing critique of ignorance, deceit and human weaknesses. The image has traditionally been interpreted as a depiction of witches’ initiation rituals, a theme that fascinated the artist and appears repeatedly in his graphic and pictorial work. The goat, identified with the devil in popular tradition, presides over the scene as a symbol of the superstitions and irrational beliefs that Goya denounced from an enlightened perspective. The artist’s extraordinary narrative skill is combined here with a disquieting atmosphere achieved through the masterful use of etching and aquatint, techniques that allowed him to develop complex lighting effects and a tonal richness unprecedented in Spanish printmaking of his time. The Caprichos series constitutes one of the most lucid testimonies to Enlightenment thought in late 18th-century Spain. Through these prints, Goya criticised popular superstitions, social abuses, ignorance and the contradictions of his time, anticipating numerous aspects of modern art ...
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About the sale GRAND SUMMER AUCTION OF HAUTE ÉPOQUE AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
Auction location
Auction time 06/29/2026 at 4:00 AM
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