The Arthur Ross Gallery will exhibit rare etchings by Spanish artist Francisco de Goya starting Oct. 7.
The exhibit, "Goya: Prints from the Arthur Ross Collection," is celebrating the Arthur Ross Gallery's 40th anniversary. Accessible to the public, the exhibit in Fisher Fine Arts Library will highlight artwork personally selected by the founder, Arthur Ross, for the gallery's inaugural exhibition on Feb. 8, 1983.
Goya, who is regarded as one of Spain’s most influential artists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, was the first artist whose work Ross collected.
His work featured compelling social and political issues and influenced contemporary French artists such as Picasso, Manet, and Delacroix.
“Goya ushered in a new age in art,” Ross said for the inaugural exhibition in February 1983.
Goya’s most notable series of prints include "The Disasters of War" and "The Follies," or "The Proverbs."
Etchings in "The Disasters of War" illustrate the brutality Goya witnessed in Madrid and Zaragoza during the Spanish War of Independence. His final series, "The Follies," displays spiritual and societal ills through the use of various printmaking techniques such as aquatint, drypoint, and engraving.
In acquiring Goya’s prints, Ross hoped to make them accessible to the public by sharing the artwork with galleries, libraries, and universities.
In 2013, The Arthur Ross Foundation donated over 1,000 prints to the Yale University Art Gallery. Yale committed to sharing its expanded collection with other teaching museums, giving Penn “special consideration,” as Ross attended the Wharton School for three years.
The exhibition will include prints from both "The Disasters of War" and "The Follies" series. Thirty-eight of the pieces in the exhibition are lent from The Arthur Ross Collection at Yale University Art Gallery, and one is loaned from the University of Pennsylvania Art Collection.
“Today, we honor our founder, Arthur Ross, and continue to expand access to these rare and exceptional etchings,” the Arthur Ross Gallery wrote in a press release.
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