Fabian Fröhlich | Fantastische Illustrationen | Fantastic Illustrations

Two Etchings After Francisco de Goya, 1993

Image 2 and 4: Etching and aquatint, 26 x 19 cm each.

During my art history studies I dealt with the Spanish artist Francisco de Goya for a while, in theory and practice. Besides his paintings, Goya is the titan of etching. His print series, such as Los Disparates or Los Caprichos, e just beyond comparison.

The self-imposed task was to take some of Goya’s paintings and translate them into etchings, a technique I only knew theoretically. A studio at the Kunsthochschule provided that possibility – you can’t do etching at home if you haven’t got the equipment. Of course the whole exercise was not about being as good as Goya, but about understanding his work a little bit better.

What I love about “Witches’ Sabbath”, “The Lamp of the Devil” and many others of Goya’s pictures is, among other things, the way he makes fun of superstition and belief in the Devil – and at the same time takes these dark and fantastic topics very seriously – quite a modern attitude, I think.

 

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