Prisoners in irons; page 80 from the "Images of Spain" Album (F)
One of the most striking drawings from the album, this work shows a frightened child being comforted by an adult, perhaps his father. Goya conceived a symmetrical composition divided into two distinct tonal levels, a dark and a light section. A shaded demarcation of the step at right and a triangle of light in the window above mirror each other. The geometric rigidity of the underground chamber makes a severe background that underscores the prisoners’ vulnerability. The edge of the step, the chain, and the two windows direct the eye and empathy to the pair standing shackled over a stain of pitch-black shadow.
Artwork Details
- Title: Prisoners in irons; page 80 from the "Images of Spain" Album (F)
- Series/Portfolio: Images of Spain Album
- Artist: Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) (Spanish, Fuendetodos 1746–1828 Bordeaux)
- Date: ca. 1812–20
- Medium: Brush, brown ink washes, over touche of black chalk
- Dimensions: Sheet: 8 1/8 × 5 5/8 in. (20.7 × 14.3 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1935
- Object Number: 35.103.44
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
1799, posthumous impression
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
ca. 1815–19 (published 1864)
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
ca. 1815–19 (published 1864)
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
ca. 1815–19 (published 1864)
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
ca. 1815–19 (published 1864)
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