Francisco de Goya – "Tántalo" (Plate 9 from Los Caprichos) – 1937 Edition by Rupérez, Calcografía Nacional

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Striking etching titled Tántalo, plate 9 from Francisco de Goya’s legendary Los Caprichos series. This edition was printed in 1937 … Read more Striking etching titled Tántalo, plate 9 from Francisco de Goya’s legendary Los Caprichos series. This edition was printed in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War by Rupérez at the Calcografía Nacional in Madrid, under the direction of the Ministerio de Instrucción Pública.

This rare print bears the embossed stamp of the Calcografía Nacional (CN) and is part of a historically significant edition. Sets numbered 1–5 were officially dedicated to Stalin, Eleanor Roosevelt, and President Manuel Azaña of the Spanish Republic. Additional sets (nos. 6–20) were printed on imperial Japan paper. One of the earliest sets was gifted to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The image shows a tormented man holding a lifeless woman under a looming pyramid—a powerful symbol of love, loss, and death, themes central to Romanticism. As interpreted by art historian Lafuente Ferrari, the pyramid symbolizes death and the collapse of reason in the face of personal tragedy, perhaps reflecting Goya’s emotional disillusionment and the spirit of the Enlightenment in crisis.

Engraver: Francisco de Goya (1746–1828)
Title: Tántalo – Plate 9 from Los Caprichos
Edition: 1937 (Rupérez, Calcografía Nacional, Madrid)
Stamped: “Calcografía Nacional Ministerio de Instrucción Pública” (embossed CN stamp)
Plate size: 21 × 15 cm
Sheet size: 38 × 28.5 cm

Condition: Good antique condition. Some humidity staining along the left and bottom margins (not affecting the image), and a small dark spot near the lower part of the plate. See less