Fiero Monstruo!

Item

Picture Rights
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Print Title
Fiero Monstruo!
Accession Number
1964.119
Artist
Goya Lucientes, Francisco Jose de, 1746-1828
Date Created
1958-59
Edition
1st
Print/Plate Number
81
Description
The print Fiero Monstruo! is Plate 81 in Goya's Desastres de la Guerra series. Although the series originally contained only 80 plates, plates 81-82 were found later, and added to later editions. The print centers on a large creature, with what appears to be the head of an aardvark, and the body of a dog or a hare. The creature is laying on its side, with all four of its feet clearly shown. The feet resemble that of a hare or a dog. The creature’s body is covered in lines as indicative of fur, with the front legs of the creature being the lightest part of it by far. The creature’s mouth is elongated, part mouth, and part beak. The creature has gorged itself on human bodies, and is in the process of throwing them up. The bodies spill from the creature’s mouth, and onto the ground, in a nondescript pile. The bodies have enough detailing to tell each body and part apart, but are not highly detailed, like in some other of Goya’s etchings.
Edition Provenance
The print currently resides in the Cincinnati Art Museum. It was purchased by E. Pezzi for the Cincinnati Art Museum in 1964, from Barcelona, Spain. The print was initially made in the Calcografia Nacional in Spain, in 1958-59, for a special presentation to the Academicians of San Fernando. The print was issued in a special presentation folder with Plate 82, and the original copper-plate resides in the Calcografia Nacional.
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) . In the BR, the print is marked with the numbers: “88/110” in graphite, just below the image. The print has an apparent plate mark. In addition, the plate has not been cleaned, and there is a light gray wash color over the background of the image. On the BL, there is an indentation of the seal of the Calcografia Nacional, just cutting into the image, and going to just below the image area.
Holding Institution
Cincinnati Art Museum
Owned By
Cincinnati Art Museum (Cincinnati, Ohio; United States). (1964-Present).
Calcografia Nacional (Calcografia Nacional, Madrid; Spain). (1958-1964).
Media
Fiero Monstruo!