Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes
Spanish, 1746-1828
This revolutionary Spanish painter and printmaker often is viewed as the bridge between the old masters and the modernists. All four exhibited prints are from his darkly satirical series "Los Caprichos," loosely translated as "fantasy of the imagination." In the eighty images of that series, Goya pokes fun at the follies and frivolousness of the Spanish upper class of the 18th century. The etchings portray the human condition as burdened by loneliness, fear, and social alienation. They mark a clear departure from the festive paintings Goya produced as the court painter for King Charles IV. Goya’s works are violating contemporary artistic customs and are mocking the established ruling class, including the church and academia.


Édouard Manet
French, 1832-1883
These etchings by Édouard Manet exemplify how the innovative Parisian artist led the stylistic transition from Realism to Impressionism. In defiance of the academic conventions of his time, Manet depicted recognizable lower class people and fused Spanish exoticism with the flat style of Japanese prints, resulting in simplified details and a more honest and confrontational image than viewers were used to. It was Manet's refusal to idealize or perfect the world he portrayed which enabled him to revolutionize art history, and herald in the era of Modernism.


Pablo Picasso
French, born Spain, 1881-1973
A Spaniard, Pablo Picasso spent most of his career living in France, where he found celebrity as one of the leading artists of his lifetime. The exhibited prints are characteristic of the style adapted by Picasso toward the end of his life. In these colorful and expressive images, Picasso explores his ability to look at the world through a unique lens and rearrange what he saw into an imaginative and innovative mix of colors and shapes. Drawing on and transforming a wide range of historic sources, in these pieces Picasso abstracted his figures and scenery, in order to reveal what he felt to be their true essence.

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