Fight till death between two stout men
1824 - 1828. Pencil on grey laid paper. Not on displayIt is difficult to say whether here we are viewing a scene of amusement or an allegory of violence, as both characters appear to be laughing stupidly while one pines down the other by force and prepares to slit his throat with a knife. The figures show abnormal body types, and fall within the context of deformity as an expression of irrational and violent behavior.
Albums G and H were produced in Bordeaux, probably simultaneously or very close to one another in time, as evidenced by their formal, stylistic and technical similarity. In them, Goya gave free rein to his capacity for invention based on specific events he had experienced, such as the popular characters seen on the streets of Paris and Bordeaux, and to his pure imagination. Goya depicts the most significant issues presented over the course of his career, but in this case the changes the tone from satirical to grotesque: the falsehood of humanity, inequality, poverty, irrationality and the violence of individuals and of society. Goya introduced the use of crayon in these albums. This occurs in coincidence to his interest in lithography and his practice of that procedure in Bordeaux.
Matilla Rodríguez, José Manuel, Ligereza y atrevimiento. Dibujos de Goya, Santander, Fundación Botín, 2017, p.132 n.80; 201 n.80