Populacho

Picture Rights

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Print Title

Populacho

Accession Number

1949.12.28

Artist

Goya Lucientes, Francisco Jose de, 1746 - 1828

Date Created

1863

Edition

1st

Print/Plate Number

28

Description

Populacho is the 28th print in the Desastres de la Guerra series. The focal point of the print is a man and a woman positioned over a body laying on the ground. The man, the central figure on the right, is a man wielding a pitchfork, and stabbing the body laying on the ground. The central figure on the left is a woman wielding a thin club, and moving to strike the figure laying on the ground. The figure on the ground does not appear to be dead, and is partially raising their arms about their head as they are hit by the other two central figures. The figure is also fully clothed, but is not wearing any shoes. Behind this grisly scene is a gathered group of figures that appear in less definition than the three central figures. The most prominent of these background observers is a man wearing a large black hat. He stands in contrast to the rest of the crowd, who are instead portrayed in lighter tones. He also appears to be dressed in a military officer’s uniform. The crowd watching this scene of violence appears to be relatively unbothered by the scene unfolding, as no one is moving to stop the violence, or join in themselves.

Edition Provenance

The print was originally acquired by the Cincinnati Art Museum in 1949, as a gift of the donor Emily Poole. The prints were originally owned by Alan C. Poole, the brother of Emily Poole, and the prints were donated as Emily was in charge of Alan’s estate. The prints originally came bound in a book, and were unbound from the book in 1960, by workers at the Cincinnati Art Museum. The prints are known to be first edition, which were printed in the workshop of Laurenciano Potenciano for the Real Academia in Madrid and completed in March 1863. The gap between when the print was printed, and when it was obtained by Alan Poole is unknown, and is unlikely to be resolved, as those knowledgeable with the estate of Alan Poole have passed away.

Condition

For shorthand, the print will be split into 9 sections, going from Top (T), Center (C) , Bottom (B), and Left (L), center (C) , Right (R) . There is an apparent plate mark around the image area. There is also evidence of binding adhered to the back of the paper on the left side. There is false biting in BC, as well as a few other defects. The false biting is covered by Lavis, a type of etch used to cover up false biting. There is also no aquatint present in the print.

Holding Institution

Cincinnati Art Museum

Owned By

Cincinnati Art Museum (Cincinnati, Ohio; United States). (1949-Present).

Alan C. Poole, donated by Emily Poole. (Cincinnati, Ohio; United States). (Unknown - 1949).

Workshop of Laurenciano Potenciano (Real Academia, Madrid; Spain). (1863 - Unknown).

Item