Modern Duel
Medium
Lithographic crayon and scraper on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 19 × 19.5 cm (7 1/2 × 7 11/16 in.); Sheet: 30 × 29.6 cm (11 13/16 × 11 11/16 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
52639
Art Historical Context
### Modern Duel Step into the shadowy world of Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes with *Modern Duel* (1825/26), a striking lithograph created in his final years. Measuring just 19 × 19.5 cm, this intimate image on ivory laid paper captures Goya's unflinching gaze on human folly through the tense drama of a duel. Using lithographic crayon for fluid lines and a scraper for subtle textures, Goya masterfully evokes depth and movement on the flat surface, showcasing his innovative command of this new printmaking technique. Exiled to Bordeaux, France, after political turmoil in Spain, the aging Go...
About the Artist
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes · 1746–1828
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was born on March 30, 1746, in the small Aragonese village of Fuendetodos, Spain, to José Benito de Goya, a master gilder, and Gracia de Lucientes. The fourth of six children in a modest lower-middle-class family, Goya received a basic education before beginning his artistic training at age 14 under the local painter José Luzán y Martínez in Zaragoza, where he sp...