About this artwork
Here a strange animal, rather like the griffin of mythology, alights into the dark sky with a couple on its back. Night scenes play a key role in many of Goya’s prints, lending them an ominous tone. A critical component of the foreboding look of the prints is Goya’s masterful use of aquatint, a process involving a grainy ground of resin that prints a light-suffused darkness. In this scene, the night sky becomes a flat cosmic backdrop to the figure’s antics, as they seem to ignore the advice of the print’s title.
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Currently Off View
- Prints and Drawings
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Artist
- Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes
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Title
- Renounce the Friend Who Covers You with His Wings and Bites You with His Beak, plate five from Los Proverbios
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Origin
- Spain
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Date
- Made 1815–1824
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Medium
- Etching and aquatint on ivory wove paper
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Dimensions
- 217 × 326 mm (image); 245 × 353 mm (plate); 332 × 497 mm (sheet)
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Credit Line
- The Charles Deering Collection
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Reference Number
- 1927.3314
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
