A fabulous and rare image by Goya titled ‘Lluvia de Toros’ or ‘Raining Bulls’ also known as ‘Little Bulls Folly’ from the supplementary plates to his series ‘Los Proverbios’. An etching with aquatint in grey-black on laid paper bearing the engraved title and inscription to the lower margin, first printed by Francois Liénard in the publication 'L'Art', Paris in 1877. A very fine impression.
Details
Goya created his final and most enigmatic print series between 1815 and 1824. Forty years passed before their publication in 1864. This supplementary plate (of four) was then first issued subsequently, in 1877. The series was published under the title 'Los Proverbios', although Goya's own captions for the working proofs include the word 'Disparates', meaning 'follies', and so the series is known by both titles. The proverbs assigned to each plate were added upon publication. Even with titles, the meanings of Los Proverbios remain ambiguous. Like Goya's 'black' paintings, begun in 1819 after his recovery from a serious illness and filled with macabre visions, the plates are imbued with an overwhelming sense of pessimism and appear to reflect Goya's precarious mental state at the time. Nevertheless, Goya's expert use of contour, line density, and tonal variation in weaving his dark visions clearly evidence his extraordinary abilities as a master printmaker.
Provenance: Ex Sam Josefowitz collection.
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