Little elves

Datos Generales

Cronología: Ca. 1797 - 1798
Ubicación: The Prado National Museum. Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Dimensiones: 197 x 140 mm
Técnica y soporte: Sanguine on paper

Reconocimiento de la autoría de Goya: Documented work
Titular: El Prado National Museum
Ficha: realización/revisión: 21 Dec 2010 / 26 Jun 2023
Inventario: (D. 3937)

Inscripciones

13 (in pencil. recto, lower left-hand corner)

69 (in pencil. Reverse, upper part)

Watermark: [Shield with helmet, bird inside, and underneath "D.N J.PH GISBERT / ALCOY" (upper half)].

Historia

On the origin of this and other preparatory drawings for The Caprices, see the commentary on the first of them, corresponding to Caprice number 1 (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, painter), and on the one corresponding to Caprice 3 (The bogeyman is Coming).

Line of provenance of this drawing: Javier Goya; Mariano Goya, 1854; Valentín Carderera, ca. 1861; Mariano Carderera, 1880; Prado Museum, 1886.

Análisis artístico

Preparatory drawing for Caprice no. 49, Little Elves

Compared to the engraving, in this drawing the face of the central figure is even more deformed and the friar on the left has a tonsure on his head, whereas in the print he appears to be bald.

In this drawing, Goya shows that he had an extremely clear idea of how the engraving should look, maintaining the characters, their postures, deatures and clothing.

Conservación

This drawing is badly damaged on the right half.

Bibliografía

SÁNCHEZ CANTÓN, Francisco Javier

Los Caprichos de Goya y sus dibujos preparatorios
Bibliography']['number
BarcelonaInstituto Amatller de Arte Hispánico

1949

p. 89
LÓPEZ-REY, José

Goya’s Caprichos. Beauty, Reason and Caricature
Bibliography']['number
Nueva JerseyPrinceton University Press

1953

p. 202, fig. 185
SÁNCHEZ CANTÓN. Francisco Javier
Bibliography']['number
MadridMuseo del Prado

1954

n. 48
CASARIEGO, Rafael

Goya. Los Caprichos. Colección de ochenta y cinco estampas en las que se fustigan errores y vicios humanos
Bibliography']['number
MadridEdiciones de Arte y Bibliofilia

1966

cat. 49
GASSIER, Pierre y WILSON, Juliet

Vie et ouvre de Francisco de Goya
Bibliography']['number
ParísOffice du livre

1970

p. 182, cat. 550
GASSIER, Pierre

Dibujos de Goya, 2 vols
Bibliography']['number
BarcelonaNoguer

1975

p. 144, cat. 107
LAFUENTE FERRARI, Enrique

Los Caprichos de Goya

col. Serie punto y línea
Bibliography']['number
BarcelonaGustavo Gili

1977

pp. 43-44
BLAS BENITO, Javier, MATILLA RODRÍGUEZ, José Manuel y MEDRANO, José Miguel

El libro de los caprichos: dos siglos de interpretaciones (1799-1999). Catálogo de los dibujos, pruebas de estado, láminas de cobre y estampas de la primera edición
Bibliography']['number
MadridMuseo Nacional del Prado

1999

p. 267
Bibliography']['number

Little elves

Drawings