One of the advantages of art history is that it provides a sense of perspective. Goya made the etchings, which were originally published in , from drawings and observations recorded in two sketchbooks, detailing abuses by the Roman Catholic Church, societal ills from pedophilia to prostitution, and rampant superstition in an age of revolution and terror.
The current show, which features a first edition of the etchings, acquired directly from Goya by the Duke and Duchess of Osuna around , starts with the image that was used as the frontispiece. The print is a self-portrait of Goya wearing an elegant beaver stovepipe hat, jacket and cravat. The most famous etching from the series, and one that many think Goya considered for the frontispiece of the publication, comes much later. Owls, bats and monsters swarm over him, while a wide-eyed cat is on the floor next to him.
Is he celebrating Enlightenment reason, or Romantic irrationality? Vagueness was a virtue in many periods of European art β particularly when the Inquisition was breathing down your neck. Prostitutes and witches pop up frequently, sometimes together.
One questionable decision was to include supersize reproductions of several of the plates on upper portions of the gallery walls. On the one hand, this functions as a large-print supplement to the series. But it also cheapens the presentation somewhat. A second, so-so idea was the wall texts, which include tripartite commentaries about each image: two written by Goya, each from a different Spanish collection, and one by Robert Flynn Johnson, a curator emeritus at the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts of the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco.
This doom-saying edict is also undercut somewhat by the inclusion of works by two more recent artists. Fighter planes and a helicopter replace the creatures hovering over the human figure in Mr. Neither Mr. Intelligently parsing and repurposing are equally valued. Tell us what you think. Please upgrade your browser. See next articles. News World U.
