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'Barbarous Entertainment', a blind guitarist on the horns of a bull

1800–1804 (published 1828–67)
Not on view
Shortly after publishing the Caprichos in 1799, Goya made this independent print. It returns to the subject of the blind guitarist the artist had explored earlier an etching from around 1778 (see 22.63.29). The title Barbarous entertainment is taken from an inscription written by Goya on an impression of the print at the British Museum. It suggests his ambivalence toward the practice of bullfighting in Spain. The print might have been inspired by the comic bullfighter Ramón de la Rosa, whose antics were reported in a Madrid newspaper in 1797.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: 'Barbarous Entertainment', a blind guitarist on the horns of a bull
  • Artist: Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) (Spanish, Fuendetodos 1746–1828 Bordeaux)
  • Date: 1800–1804 (published 1828–67)
  • Medium: Etching, aquatint, drypoint on laid paper
  • Dimensions: Plate: 6 15/16 × 8 5/8 in. (17.7 × 21.9 cm)
    Sheet: 12 3/8 × 14 7/8 in. (31.4 × 37.8 cm)
    Sheet (Unfolded sheet): 12 3/8 × 17 13/16 in. (31.4 × 45.3 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1918
  • Object Number: 18.42.2
  • 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)
Mlle. Victorine in the Costume of an "Espada", Edouard Manet French, Etching, aquatint, and bitten tone on laid paper (watermarked Hudelist); final state of three, from the 1862 Cadart edition
Mlle. Victorine in the Costume of an "Espada"
Edouard Manet
Sitter Victorine Meurent
In the manner of Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
1862
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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