GCL #
Blockchain
Name
Goya_collection
Contract Address
Token ID
29959971844286247442585611845424938891591569273071629154265188584978383903080
Token Standard
ERC-1155
Description
Masked and dressed up, people engage in what looks like a costume party. Hiding themselves behind masks, which are nothing but the predecessors of today’s social media filters, we can hardly identify the figures who seem to enjoy their anonymity. On the other hand, anonymity comes at the cost that neither the fellow party guests know who you are nor do you really know them. It remains an exchange of facades and deception rather than truthful and profound encounters, just like today’s virtual interactions hidden behind filters and staged images. In the center, the figure who politely bows to the woman on the right is usually described as an effeminate general looking to court the female companion (note his hand in strategic position!). Or is it a woman dressed in men’s clothes? At first glance, everyone conceals themselves with their preferred filter, and no one knows each other, but maybe it is also the other way round, and it is the masquerade that allows them to show their true self and be who they want to be. Goya’s work is almost synonymous with “ambiguity,”. His creations – this one is no exception – allow for more than one interpretation. The many possible readings of this artwork start to unfold when we understand the subject matter and the current conditions of the artist. Masks back then surely meant something else than to us post-2020 today. A costume party was less about Halloween but rather an opportunity to mingle in an unconstraint gathering without having to obey the strict etiquette of the social classes. The gained freedom for all is traded for the anonymity of the individual and at the cost of truth. In other words, all things come at a price.
Properties
Background
pale linen
Medium
etching and aquatint
Date
1799
Series
Los Caprichos
Paper
ivory laid paper
Artist
Francisco de Goya
Owner
Artemundi
Location
Arévalo, Ávila, Spain
Museum
Collegium
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