Duels. On guard!
1815 - 1820. Grey-brown wash on dark yellow laid paper. Not on displayBecause of its technique and theme, this Album seems to have been produced around the same time as Album C, roughly between 1812 and 1820. The drawings were executed using a brush an iron gall ink, the same ink as used for standard writing at that time. In this case, Goya reused an old notebook due to the shortage of paper at that time.
Despite its thematic variety, the Album presents a consistent ambiance, where representations of misery, tragedy or violence predominate. Based on events more or less real, but not always contemporary, Goya provides a panorama of the oppressive atmosphere of the time of the Peninsular War and the immediate post-war period. The Album begins with scenes of old-style duels, ends with hunting drawings, and in between includes a variety of episodes in disturbing settings. Many of the compositions are closely related to other works from this period, whether prints, paintings or other drawings. Stylistically, the Album is very rich, with some drawings sketched out in a rapid and abbreviated manner, and others made with precise preparations.
Six drawings located at the beginning of the Album depict duels with characters dressed in the old style. If we consider the context of the other drawings, these can be interpreted as the immediate precursors of the human violence present throughout the remaining pages. Compositionally, it shows an absolute antagonism between the two contenders, one young and insecure in the shadows on the left, against on older and more confident man in a illuminated field on the right side.
Matilla Rodríguez, José Manuel, Ligereza y atrevimiento. Dibujos de Goya, Santander, Fundación Botín, 2017, p.102 n.55; 187-188 n.55