Francisco Goya
1746-1828
Feria en Bordeaux
ca. 1826
7 9/16 x 5 15/16 inches (192 x 150 mm)
Black chalk on laid paper.
1999.20
Gift of Gertrude Weyhe Dennis in honor of Felice Stampfle on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Morgan Library and the 50th anniversary of the Association of Fellows.
Notes
Folio 39 from Album (the Bordeaux Album).
In 1826 Goya made several drawings depicting attractions at the fair in Bordeaux. One such spectacle was the female giant, whom he portrayed towering over a crowd of ogling sensation seekers. By compressing this group, Goya created a margin to the left where he has added his signature. The pentimento of the woman's right arm, previously raised above the crowd, accentuates the crude gaze, directed at her anatomy, of two male spectators. Goya thus offers an inverted vision of humanity by contrasting the dignity of the fairground freak with the indecorous stares from the crowd below. --Exhibition Label, from "Visions and Nightmares: Four Centuries of Spanish Drawings"
In 1826 Goya made several drawings depicting attractions at the fair in Bordeaux. One such spectacle was the female giant, whom he portrayed towering over a crowd of ogling sensation seekers. By compressing this group, Goya created a margin to the left where he has added his signature. The pentimento of the woman's right arm, previously raised above the crowd, accentuates the crude gaze, directed at her anatomy, of two male spectators. Goya thus offers an inverted vision of humanity by contrasting the dignity of the fairground freak with the indecorous stares from the crowd below. --Exhibition Label, from "Visions and Nightmares: Four Centuries of Spanish Drawings"
Inscriptions/Markings
Inscribed by the artist at upper center, "feria en - / Bordeaux, at upper right, 39".
Watermark: heart surmounted by trefoil, upper fragment of larger watermark.
Watermark: heart surmounted by trefoil, upper fragment of larger watermark.
Associated names
Weyhe, Erhard, former owner.
Dennis, Gertrude W., former owner.
Dennis, Gertrude W., former owner.
Bibliography
From Leonardo to Pollock: Master drawings from the Morgan Library. New York: Morgan Library, 2006, cat. no. 28, p. 62-63.
Artist
Classification
Century Drawings
School
Catalog link
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