GOYA. Los Desastres de la Guerra. Madrid. Real Academia de Nobles Artes de San Fernando. 1863.

Oblong 4to. Contents: blank leaf; lithograph title by J. Aragon with the watermark 'El Arte en España'; leaf of biographical text printed recto and verso; 80 aquatint plates printed in sepia recto only on heavy wove paper with the watermark 'J. G. O. and a palmette'. Contemporary maroon Spanish morocco, boards ruled in gilt and blind surrounding elaborate blind-tooled plaques, upper board with title gilt, rear board with elaborate blind-tooled lozenge, banded spine with blind-tooling in six compartments, inner dentelles with gilt decorative surround, marbled endpapers, a.e.g., later marbled box lined with green felt.

First edition, second issue.

An excellent set - with fine sepia impressions - of the first edition of the 'Desastres'. The prints were pulled in the workshop of Laurenciano Potenciano for the Real Academia and completed in March 1863 on heavy wove paper. The complete edition size of the first edition was 500 copies. This copy is an example from the later impression of the first edition, printed after the correction to the text on all of the plates, including the final correction to the text of plate 9.

"Most of the plates in this great series of engravings were inspired by incidents which Goya witnessed during the Peninsular War of 1808-14, and the terrible famine in Madrid in 1811-12. Carderera says that the series was executed between 1810 and 1820 and his dating has usually been accepted without challenge ... It is strange that no contemporary edition was ever made of this important series of engravings. Possibly by the time they were finished, the war and famine scenes were not of great appeal, and Goya was probably unwilling to risk another financial failure such as had been experienced with the Caprichios. It was a time of stern repression and the publication of the satirical and violently anticlerical subjects of some of the 'caprichios enfaticos' would certainly have been dangerous. These facts would account for a postponement of publication." (Harris). Goya was also very ill at this time and by the time he recovered he was already planning to leave for France. The copperplates remained with Goya's son, Javier, until his death in 1854. They were then acquired, in November 1862, by the Academia de Nobles Artes de San Fernando and finally published in 1863.

"In the first edition of 1863 the title of the series was changed from 'Fatales consequencias ... ' to that by which is is now known, Los Desastres de la Guerra. The legend 'Sad forebodings of what is about to happen' given to the first plate of the series, prepares the spectator for what he is to see. Plates 2-47, with few exceptions, deal with the horrors of the war; the following seventeen engravings, Plates 48-64 inclusive, record the terrible famine which occurred in Madrid between September 1811 and August 1812, and which is said to have claimed over 20,000 victims; and Plates 65-80 are the 'Capricios enfaticos' ... The Caprichios Enfaticos were certainly the last to be executed. They are political, religious and ideological allusions to the war. They range in style and technique from engravings which are very close to some of the war and famine scenes to some that are similar to the late engravings of the Proverbios series." (Harris: Goya Engravings and lithographs). [Harris 1b]. P. O. A.

PICASSO. Góngora y Argote, Luis de. Vingt Poèmes. Paris. Les Grands Peintres Modernes et le Livre. 1948.

Folio. Illustrated with 41 original etchings and aquatints. Full black combed crushed morocco by Thérèse Moncey, with her signature gilt, executed by Cochet, with his signature gilt, onlaid panels of black suede to upper and lower boards forming repetitive motif of a female profile (taken from one of Picasso's illustrations for the book), title gilt to spine, black suede doublures, original publisher's wrappers and backstrip preserved, a.e.g., morocco backed speckled paper chemise and matching slipcase.

From the edition limited to 275 copies, with this one of 235 copies on Marais watermarked 'Góngora'.
Picasso admired greatly the work of the Spanish poet Luis de Góngora y Argote (b. 1561), copying twenty of the sonnets by hand, decorating them with remarques onto the etching plates. Picasso drew directly onto the plates, at times with a brush, at others with a pen: there was no retouching. [Cramer 51]. €40,000

PICASSO. Roque, Jacqueline. Température. Alès. PAB. 1960.

16mo. 21 x 40 mm. Illustrated with 4 original drypoint engravings by Picasso, of which two are for the wrapper. Original publisher's printed wrappers.

From the edition limited to 53 copies on Arches wove, signed by Picasso and PAB, with this one of 15 hors commerce copies.

"For this tiny book, or miniscule, PAB and Picasso chose a text by Jacqueline Roque, whom Picasso had met in 1953 and whom he was to marry in 1961. For the front and back sides of the book cover, Picasso made two engravings which show undulating lines suggesting the sea, across which a sailboat, with two passengers, is moving. Jacqueline Roque's text is illustrated with two engravings: one, with two cut-outs, of a rising sun, and the other, of a landscape with a single tree and some birds flying in the wind". [Cramer 104; Livres Réalisés par P. A. Benoit 363]. €12,000