Modern Duel

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 Goya—deaf and disillusioned—embraced lithography around 1824. As one of the first major artists to adopt it, he produced dynamic series like the *Bulls of Bordeaux*, blending Romantic intensity with satirical edge. *Modern Duel* reflects this late style: raw, expressive, and critical of society's violent customs, echoing themes from his earlier *Disasters of War* and *Black Paintings*. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings department, this work highlights lithography's revolutionary potential—affordable reproduction of bold artistry. Goya's scraper reveals highlights like moonlight on blades, inviting us to ponder the absurdity of "modern" honor in an era of change. A testament to genius undimmed by age. (198 words)

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...