Amarga presencia ('Bitter to be present') (D. 132; H. 133)

Details

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes
Amarga presencia ('Bitter to be present') (D. 132; H. 133)
etching with drypoint and engraving, Harris's state I i, an exceptionally rare working proof before letters and numbers (Harris records two other examples, both in public collections), a fine impression, on laid paper, with wide margins, the number 2 in pen and ink in the upper right corner, the artist's name and a price (5/-) in pencil in the lower margin, a faint vertical crease running through the centre of the sheet, a further crease across the lower right sheet corner, scattered pale foxing, remains of old adhesive on the reverse at the upper sheet edge where previously mounted
P. 140 x 167 mm., S. 220 x 320 mm.

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Lot Essay

The continued power of Los Desastres to shock contemporary audiences stems in large part from Goya's brutal honesty in depicting the countless outrages that take place in wartime - for him nothing is beyond the pale. Here we see a woman about to be raped, with a bound figure at the left - presumably a father, husband or brother - forced to watch. The arches looming in the background add dramatic weight to the composition.

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