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Prisoners in irons; page 80 from the "Images of Spain" Album (F)

ca. 1812–20
Not on view
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

Object Information
  • 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

More Artwork

More Artwork
Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuñiga (1784–1792), Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) Spanish, Oil on canvas
Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuñiga (1784–1792)
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
1787–88
Seated Giant, Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) Spanish, Burnished aquatint, scaper, roulette, lavis (along the top of the landscape and within the landscape)
Seated Giant
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
by 1818 (possibly 1814–18)
Playing Horse With Him, Rollin Kirby American, Lithographic crayon washed with touche
Playing Horse With Him
Rollin Kirby
1895–1944
Condesa de Altamira and Her Daughter, María Agustina, Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) Spanish, Oil on canvas
Condesa de Altamira and Her Daughter, María Agustina
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
1787–88
Self-Portrait, Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) Spanish, Brush and point of brush, carbon black ink
Self-Portrait
Draftsman Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
Sitter Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
ca. 1796

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