No hay quien nos desate? (Can't Anyone Untie Us?)

1799

Francisco Goya

Associated Names
Francisco Goya

Artist, Spanish, 1746 - 1828

This print shows two people and an owl. The two people appear to be tied together at the waist, and they stand in front of a tall tree. The woman is in front, facing us, while the man has his back to us as he bends down towards the bottom left corner. The woman has short, dark hair and wears a short-sleeved white dress. Her arms are both raised up, and her head tilts back, an expression of distress on her face. The man also has short dark hair and wears a dark jacket and knee-high pants. Both people have pale skin. A rope is visible around the woman's waist and her ankles. The man seems to be gripping the rope in one hand as he bends down. Above them, a large owl sits on the tree. One of the owl's feet appears to be on the woman's face, and one of her outstretched hands reaches toward its chest. Its wings are outstretched, and it has long ears. It is the same gray color as the sky behind it. The ground below the two people is covered in thin lines indicating grass, with a group of tall plants on the right.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching and aquatint with burnishing on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Ruth B. Benedict

  • Dimensions

    plate: 21.6 x 15.2 cm (8 1/2 x 6 in.)
    sheet: 28.7 x 18.9 cm (11 5/16 x 7 7/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1994.60.26

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Harris 1964, no. 110, State III


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Loys Delteil (1869-1927), Paris (Lugt 773). Dr. Ruth B. Benedict (1913-1993), Washington; bequest to NGA, 1994.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1994

  • A Discerning Eye: Prints and Drawings Given by Ruth B. Benedict, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994, no. 52.

2021

  • Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2021 - 2022.

Bibliography

1964

  • Harris, Tomás. Goya: engravings and lithographs. 2 vols. Oxford: Bruno Cassirer, 1964.

1994

  • A Discerning Eye: Prints and Drawings Given by Ruth B. Benedict. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: no. 52.

2021

  • Hoisington, Rena. Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya. Washington, 2021: 215.

Inscriptions

across bottom in plate: ?No hay quien nos desate?; upper right in plate: 75.; by later hand, lower left in graphite: K. 7328 MK(?) J.3828; by later hand, lower right verso in graphite: (not deciphered); by later hand, lower center verso in graphite: D7MSS44

Markings

recto: none; verso: Loys Henri Delteil (Lugt 773)

Wikidata ID

Q75119106

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