About this artwork
Goya made these two etchings after Velázquez’s portrait pair reenvisioning the ancient writers Menippus (a satirical playwright) and Aesop (a storyteller). Both men were initially slaves, but became free men. They both appear in the paintings holding books or standing near piles of them, although none of their original writings have survived. Like the portraits of the court dwarves, Goya etched these thinkers on a smaller size sheet of paper than Velázquez’s portraits of contemporary nobles (and sold them at half the price).
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Prints and Drawings
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Artist
- Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes
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Title
- Menippus
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Place
- Spain (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- Made 1778
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Medium
- Etching with engraved inscription on laid paper
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Dimensions
- Image: 28.5 × 19 cm (11 1/4 × 7 1/2 in.); Plate: 30.5 × 22 cm (12 1/16 × 8 11/16 in.); Sheet: 42.5 × 30.2 cm (16 3/4 × 11 15/16 in.)
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Credit Line
- William McCallin McKee Memorial Endowment
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Reference Number
- 1972.18
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/38167/manifest.json