FRANCISCO DE GOYA Y LUCIENTES (1746-1828), Neither more nor less (Ni mas ni menos) Plate 41 from: Los Caprichos

FRANCISCO DE GOYA Y LUCIENTES (1746-1828)
Neither more nor less (Ni mas ni menos)
Plate 41 from: Los Caprichos
etching with burnished aquatint, drypoint and engraving, on laid paper, a very good impression from the First Edition, published by the artist, Madrid, 1799, with traces of burr on the donkey’s nose, the background with only the earliest signs of wear, framed
Plate: 7³⁄₄ x 5⁷⁄₈ in. (197 x 149 mm.)
Sheet: 11³⁄₄ x 8 in. (298 x 203 mm.)

Presumably Manuel Fernández Durán y Pando, Marqués de Perales del Río (1818-1886), Madrid.
Don Pedro Fernández-Durán (1846-1930), Madrid; with his stamp (Lugt 747b); presumably by descent from the above.
Don Tomas de la Maza y Saavedra (1896-1975); gift from the above.
With Herman Shickman Fine Arts, New York.
With Stuart Denenberg, Los Angeles.
Private American Collection; acquired from the above.

Delteil 78; Harris 76

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Lot Essay

‘In this work, Goya continues his theme of the upside-down world. The ass, being painted by a monkey, has an air of self-importance and gravity which is emphasized by a strong light cast upon his features. The monkey-painter is very small, dark and subservient to his ‘important’ client. It is the same sort of pictorial rapport which Goya establishes with his shadowy depiction of himself off to the side of his portrait of Carlos Ill's prime minister Conde de Floridablanca in 1783 (Collection: Banco de Espana, Madrid). In the Floridablanca portrait, the strong lighting again falls solely on the subject with his white hair and brilliant, red uniform. For this etching, Goya executed a preliminary drawing on which he inscribed: You will not die of hunger, perhaps showing his disdain for portraitists who create illusions for their clients.’

Johnson, R. S., Francisco Goya, Los Caprichos, R.S. Johnson Fine Art, Chicago, 1992, p. 108.