The Anglers

Goya’s works on paper poignantly document the brutalities of war and the social turmoil that plagued Spain, often depicting members of the working class. For this drawing, Goya repurposed a bill dated July 1 of the year 1799, legible at the top of the sheet. To disguise the area of text, Goya uses a dark brown wash that places the fishermen beneath an overhanging shadow, reminiscent of a stormy sky or the interior of a cave. Drawing on used paper was unusual for Goya. The blank reverse of this sheet has led to the suggestion that the artist was inspired by an existing blemish on the paper, which prompted the scene from his imagination. Lending theatricality and drama to an everyday activity, the figures stand in sharp contrast to their light-filled background, a common motif in Goya’s drawings.

C. Fairfax Murray. Henry Oppenheimer, London. His sale, July 10–14, 1936, Christie’s, Lot 449. Frick 1936.

Source: The Frick Collection: Drawings, Prints & Later Acquisitions. Volume IX. New York: The Frick Collection, 2003.