May 11, 2023 - Sale 2636

Sale 2636 - Lot 198

Price Realized: $ 1,375
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,500
FRANCISCO JOSÉ DE GOYA
Que sacrificio!

Aquatint and etching, circa 1799. 215x150 mm; 8 1/2x6 inches, wide margins. First edition. From Los Caprichos. A very good, dark impression, with contrasts and with the highlights on the head and shoulders of the woman and the man's back distinct.

Goya's (1746-1828) commentary on this subject, from his diaries, which is revealed on the expressions and poses of the figures in this scene, is particularly biting, he wrote, "That's how things are! The fiancé is not very attractive, but he is rich, and at the cost of the freedom of an unhappy girl, the security of a hungry family is acquired. It is the way of the world." Delteil 51; Harris 49.