Goya: The Witches and Old Women Album, a new exhibition opening today at Courtauld Gallery, presents the first time a whole Goya album in its original sequence has been reconstructed.
Reuniting for the first time all the known drawings from one of Goya’s most celebrated private albums, Witches offers an extraordinary chance to closely admire and inspect some of the Spanish artist’s most fascinating works. All the pieces are drawings madewith a watercolour brush and black carbon ink from when the artist was in his late 60s/early 70s (1819-1823). With titles like Dream of Flogging, Unholy Union, and Mirth, the subject matter beguiles. This is Goya at his creep-out best. But witchy weirdness and social allusions aside, these metaphors for perversion of human behaviour are gorgeously well executed sketches.
The press preview for the Goya show was my first time to visit the Courtauld Gallery. In addition to the gorgeous space at northwest entrance to Somerset House, I was deeply impressed (and actually rather inspired) by the gallery’s collection of works ranging from the Renaissance to the 20th century with pieces by Cezanne, Manet, Gauguin, Van Gogh and more. I’ll be back!
Goya: The Witches and Old Women Album runs from 26 February to 25 May 2015 at the Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, WC2R 0RN. Admission is £8.50 (£7.50 concessions). Find out more at courtauld.ac.uk/gallery.
I am glad to see something that I can actually make as it’s running until May and it looks really fascinating, think it would fit well with my art segments for university x