Love and Death
1797 - 1798. Red wash, Red chalk on silk paper.Not on display
Preliminary drawing for Capricho 10. Goya used this drawing when devising Capricho 10, Love and Death. A griefstricken woman cradles the body of her lover, who has been mortally wounded in a duel, as indicated by the sword on the ground by his hat. For some of the Caprichos, Goya copied the composition onto thin, transparent paper and added the effects of light and shadow with wash. The paper’s transparency allowed him to analyze the process of reversing the image on the copperplate and obtain a guide for making the print. The manuscript commentaries on Capricho 10 relate it to the plays of Pedro Calderón de la Barca whose plots revolve around the defense of honor. Underlying this, however, is Goya’s condemnation of dueling and the jealousy that engenders chaotic, destructive passions.
Matilla, J.M. Mena M.B., Goya: dibujos. Solo la voluntad me sobra, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2019, p.136 nº 65
