News & Publications
Noted Scholar to Lecture on Goya's "Los Caprichos" Exhibition
at St. John's College's Mitchell Gallery
FOR RELEASE: October 20, 2008
CONTACT: Patricia Dempsey 410-626-2539
Patricia.Dempsey@sjca.edu
Dr. Janis Tomlinson, director of University Museums at the University of Delaware and an eminent Goya scholar, will lecture on "Los Caprichos" exhibition, at Mitchell Gallery at St. John's College on November 18, at 5:30 p.m.
Goya (1746-1818) is considered to be one of the first masters of modern art. His largest graphic work, "Los Caprichos," is a testimony to his artistic eye, technical capability, and understanding of man's physical and psychological demons. A new exhibition, "Los Caprichos by Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes" at the Mitchell Gallery features select aquatint prints. The exhibit, which is from Contemporary and Modern Print Exhibitions, will be on view from October 25-December 17.
The images for "Los Caprichos," which were published in 1799, first appeared to Goya as a dream when he was 51 as depicted in the print, "The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters." These "fantasies" or "whims" as the word "caprichos" implies are masterful political, anti-clerical and allegorical prints that reflect Goya's life and milieu as a court painter in 18th-century Spain.
His subject matter serves as commentary of the tumultuous events of his times. Goya's Spain was a declining naval and colonial power, dominated by the Inquisition, a movement that suppressed economic, social, and political progress. Despite a brief period of rejuvenation brought on by the French Enlightenment, Spain's government collapsed upon the death of Charles III in 1788. Then came the French Revolution, followed by more unrest as France invaded Spain.
Exhibited Related Events for "Los Caprichos"
November 11 OR November 19 Local artist and poet Ebby Malmgren and St. John's College tutor Louis Petrich will lead an exhibit-related seminar, "Monsters in the Sleep of Reason," in the gallery, at 7 p.m. Space is limited; the reading may be purchased from the college bookstore. REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Call 410-626-2556.
November 16 Gallery Talk. Art educator Lucinda Edinberg will give a gallery talk on "Los Caprichos" exhibition, at 3 p.m.