Description
In Love and death, a woman supports a dying man, bringing the embrace of love into contact with irreversible loss. In Love and Death, Francisco Goya draws the pair together at the point where tenderness can no longer provide protection. The physical dependence of one body on another gives the scene an immediate emotional clarity.
Published in 1799 as plate 10 of Los Caprichos, the etching and burnished aquatint stand apart from the series’ sharper social comedy through their concentrated gravity. The title names two forces whose meeting is carried by the figures’ posture rather than an elaborate setting. Light and shadow isolate the encounter, allowing the surrounding darkness to intensify its intimacy. Goya makes the image compelling through the closeness of the pair, where affection persists even as its power to preserve life fails.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Goya collection.
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