Mapping Goya

The process of printmaking has existed for hundreds of years. Starting with relief, and eventually evolving to include etching, engraving, lithography, silkscreen and other techniques. In the mid 1800s, from roughly 1810 to 1820, Spanish artist Francisco Goya created a series of etchings titled Los Desastres de la Guerra (Disasters of War). The series was eventually published in 1863. Prints are highly reproducible, and as such, many editions can be printed. In museum, gallery and private collections, provenance, where a piece of artwork has been throughout its life, is of utmost importance. Provenance allows registrars, archivists and collectors to know exactly where a piece came from, and all the data that includes, including conditions of the pieces, and whether or not they are forgeries. Tracking provenance for prints is arguably more difficult than tracking provenance for other works. Along with print series tending to be large, prints often have multiple series created. This makes it so that there are more than one of a single design of a print. This project seeks to track and record the provenance, location and condition of the prints in various institutions. The project will use data from institutions, galleries, collectors, and other experts to complete it’s mission. Currently, this project is intended as a pilot. It will cover three prospective institutions, The Miami University Art Museum, The Cincinnati Art Museum, and The Met. This pilot is intended to show the viability of such a project. If the pilot is a success, more institutions and prints will be added to the map of prints. Mapping Goya is made up of two main components; the map, and the object files. The map tracks the locations of each print globally. In addition, each object file contains a map and timeline of all of the collections that specific print was held in. The object files contain a physical description of each print, it’s current location, it’s condition, and in-depth provenance record.