In Madrid during the summer I visited the Academy of San Fernando to see a photographic exhibition. However, the highlight of the visit which I found really exciting, was seeing the original plates by Goya of his famous series of etchings ‘The Caprichos’ and ‘The Disasters of War’. This plate is a self-portrait and it formed the frontispiece of ‘The Caprichos’ which was first published in Spain in 1799. One of the interesting things about the plates is that they are steel, not as I had previously thought, copper. The more durable material had been introduced during the mid 1790’s so Goya was one of the first artists to use steel. Of course the plates are also fascinating because they show the depth of bite and a real feeling of the artists temperament and intention. Below is the positive print from the plate.
