“The strange, the monstrous, the mask, but also the change and concealment of identity, issues that Francisco Goya tackled in the period 1797-1798 and were captured in the 80 engravings presented in the basement of the National Gallery in Athens (the series of works was printed in 1803), we see them today in other forms of art, such as cinema,” says Syrago Tsiara, art historian, curator and director of the National Gallery, during a press tour of the exhibition “Francisco Goya – Los Caprichos (The Caprices),” curated by Katerina Tavantzi.

In fact, from director Coralie Fargeat’s film “The Substance,” to Robert Eggers’ remake of the legendary “Nosferatu,” it seems that the darkness that preoccupied Goya still attracts movie creators and the general public today.

But speaking of visual arts, and having reached the second level of the gallery behind the “Democracy” exhibition, we find the 80 aquatint and etching prints made by the Spanish painter in 1797-1798 and purchased in 1962 under the direction of Marinos Kalligas. “Los Caprichos” is one of the four series of engravings by Goya that the gallery has in its permanent collection, with this particular series serving as a milestone in the artist’s development. Goya rebelled artistically at the end of the 18th century, ceasing to create commissioned works for the Spanish court and beginning to focus on themes that touched on the social issues of his time. He did not hesitate to criticize, among other things, the hypocritical human relationships, prostitution, misery and lack of education of everyday people, who live in a world immersed in superstition and magical practices. Among the prints, the audience will also see one of Goya’s most famous, “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters” (created between 1797 and 1799).

‘From the first drawing to the final result, there are key points that change, with the artist removing elements that would have been severely censored’

Although the four series of engravings have been exhibited before at the National Gallery (in 1971, partly in 1984, and in 2008), this time the public will see the works not in a chronological presentation but rather a thematic one, accompanied by Goya’s preparatory drawings, which show the development of each individual work through one or more sketches. “It is very interesting to see the evolutionary course of his thought. From the first drawing to the final result, there are key points that change, with the artist removing elements that would have been severely censored and brought him face to face with the Inquisition,” says Tavantzi. A characteristic example is a digitally projected image of a monk who, in the original drawing, bears a phallic nose, something that is absent in the final sketch.

During the preparation of “Francisco Goya – Los Caprichos,” another exhibition was born that spreads out in the intermediate space of the gallery and is titled “The Allure of the Bizarre,” curated by Tsiara. These are contemporary sculptural, painted, and digital works by 10 Greek artists (Angelos Antonopoulos, Yannis Gaitis, Celia Daskopoulou, Marianna Ignataki, Dionisis Kavallieratos, Christoforos Katsadiotis, Tassos Mantzavinos, Malvina Panagiotidi, Angelos Papadimitriou, Filippos Tsitsopoulos), that incorporate the dark psyche, monstrous figures and other themes that Goya deals with.

The cabinet

Coming up from the basement, Tsiara leads us past a wooden piece of furniture that, at first glance, seems out of place in the surrounding space. “The idea for ‘The Allure of the Bizarre’ started with this cabinet,” she tells us, explaining that it is a piece of furniture that she found in the office of her predecessor, Marina Lambraki-Plaka, and is a legacy of the gallery’s benefactor, Odysseas Fokas. “Observing the carved figures it bears, I noticed its intense grotesque character and it made me think that this element, which Goya captures with great clarity, is presented today in contemporary art.” As Tsiara clarifies, it is not clear whether the Greek artists were inspired by the work of the great Spanish artist, but they do show similarities. The works appropriate the element of the foreign and the scary, blurring the boundaries between beauty and the grotesque.

“Francisco Goya – Los Caprichos” and “The Allure of the Bizarre” are on display at the National Gallery until September 30.