Artwork
No te escaparas (You Will Not Escape)
No te escaparas (You Will Not Escape) is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Francisco de Goya. It dates from 1799 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Executed in etching combined with burnished aquatint on laid paper, the work measures roughly the size typical of Goya’s late eighteenth‑century prints.
Created in 1799, No te escaparas (You Will Not Escape) is an intaglio print by Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes. Executed in etching combined with burnished aquatint on laid paper, the work measures roughly the size typical of Goya’s late eighteenth‑century prints. It belongs to the artist’s extensive series of socially charged images that employ the graphic medium to explore contemporary anxieties.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a winged woman in a flowing garment, poised to step across a turbulent watery surface. Flanking her are three smaller winged figures, a pair resembling men and a child, who cling to her sides and gaze outward. The title, “You Will Not Escape,” suggests a sense of surveillance or inescapable fate, positioning the female figure as a focal point of tension within the chaotic scene.
Technique & Style
Goya achieved the dramatic contrast through a combination of fine etching lines and a burnished aquatint ground, which yields deep, velvety tones. The etched outlines render the figures with sharp, angular energy, while the aquatint provides a muted, atmospheric background that evokes the churning water. The use of laid paper adds a subtle texture that interacts with the ink, enhancing the overall sense of movement.
History & Provenance
The print emerged during a period when Goya was increasingly turning to graphic media to comment on political and social unrest in Spain. Although specific ownership records for this particular impression are scarce, it is catalogued among his late eighteenth‑century works and has appeared in several scholarly inventories of Goya’s print output. Its survival on laid paper indicates careful preservation typical of his original impressions.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker.
Tale-Bearers - Blasts of Wind, Plate 48
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Tal para qual (Two of a Kind)
Quien mas rendido? (Which of Them Is the More Overcome?)
Spanish Scene (Scène espagnole)
Disparate allegre (Merry Folly)
Buen Viage (Bon Voyage)
A caza de dientes (Out Hunting for Teeth)
Volaverunt (They Have Flown)
The Man Sweeping the Interpreter's Parlor- You Will Not Escape, Plate 72