Francisco de Goya (aka Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes;
Francisco Goya) (1746–1828)
“Franco. Goya y
Lucientes, pintor”, 1799, from the second edition published in c.1855, Plate 1 (Frontispiece)
in the series “Caprichos.”
Etching,
aquatint, drypoint and burin on wove paper, trimmed within the platemark and
restored with paint made from a crushed hornet. The sheet is laid upon a
support sheet of heavy wove paper (Dutch Etch).
Size: (support sheet)
33 x 26.6 cm; (sheet) 19.1 x 14.7 cm; (image borderline) 13.7 x 11.3 cm
Lettered (with
losses) outside the image borderline with title and plate number.
Harris 1964
36.III.2 (Tomás Harris 1964, “Goya: Engravings and Lithographs”, 2 vols (2nd
for catalogue raisonné), Oxford, Bruno Cassirer); Delteil 38 (Loys Delteil 1902,
“Le Peintre-Graveur Illustré (XIXe et XXe siècles)”, 31 vols, Paris)
See also the
British Museum’s description of this print: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=764520&partId=1&searchText=Goya+self+portrait&page=1
Condition: Poor
condition with many loses and alterations (i.e. document only quality), trimmed
with margins around the image borderline but within the platemark. The print
has been “restored” with a cream-coloured paint made from a crushed hornet and
the sheet is glued onto a heavy support sheet.
I am selling
this “document only” quality print (i.e. many of its intrinsic features have
been altered) now restored with non-traditional paint for AU$330 (currently US$248.28/EUR222.45/GBP195.33
at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere
in the world.
If you are
interested in purchasing this “restored” impression of one of Goya’s most
famous prints with many significant alterations, please contact me
(oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make
the payment easy.
This is one of
Goya’s most famous prints. This is partly because it is a self-portrait and
also because it served as the frontispiece for his highly celebrated series the “Caprichos.”
What I love
about this self-portrait is that Goya has intentionally chosen a profile pose following
the long tradition of profile portraits that one sees on antique coins, medals and
more recently, postage stamps. Although this tradition would normally help to imbue
the sitter with an aura dignity and importance, in the case of Goya’s profile
portrait the aim is different. Goya’s sullen expression of disdain and his quizzically
peering eye when taken in the context of the prints that follow in the series—what
Eleanor A Sayre (1974) in “The Changing Image: Prints by Francisco Goya” describes
as “the insane behaviour of … humanity” (p. 63)—suggests that Goya perceived a
note of irony in his self-portrait. By this I mean that Goya wishes his
portrait to show that he has separated himself from the images of folly that
follow in the series and has cast himself in the role of an objective commentator on the crazy
world around him.
In keeping with
the theme of irony, this late impression of the print was once in a shocking
state of damage with its surface so eaten by insects that it resembled the
surface of the moon. In short, the print was in such a poor condition that I
thought that it was ready for the bin. That was, until I decided to lovingly
restore it using a crushed hornet as paint pigment. I imagine that there may be
many folk who would be disappointed with the choice of medium for the
restoration of this print—some may even be angry with my decision—as it does
lean to being disrespectful of a great artist’s work. Nevertheless, I imagine
that if Goya were still around he would not be highly offended and might even
see my solution to making his image beautiful once again as more than appropriate
for a satirical folio of images.
Technique for
making hornet paint used in restoring the Goya self-portrait:
1. Find the
carcass of a dead and dried out hornet
2. Crush the
hornet in a mortar and pestle—I fragmented the hornet in a blender as well
3. Cover the ground
hornet with Coca-Cola and leave for a day (or two) to dissolve
4. Add Ethanol
to the Coca-Cola and hornet syrup to kill any potential bacteria
5. Allow the
liquid to evaporate leaving the hornet to become dust
6. Choose a
suitable medium to use the hornet dust as a paint pigment
(I chose an acrylic
medium to mix with my hornet dust but egg tempera or a glue medium would have
been fine.)
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