This nightmarish vision of a city encircled by violence, its sky populated by mysterious flying creatures, was believed to be by Goya when it was purchased by an American collector in Spain in the 1880s. Today, it is thought to be by one of Goya’s emulators. The artist has exaggerated Goya’s rugged paint handling and made a pastiche of many of his motifs. The winged figures are taken from a print in Goya’s Disparates (translated as “Follies” or “Irrationalities”) series, while the apocalyptic landscape recalls Goya’s so-called Black Paintings, which had been little known in his lifetime but grew in fame over the nineteenth century.
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Title:A City on a Rock
Artist:Style of Goya (Spanish, 19th century)
Medium:Oil on canvas
Dimensions:33 × 41 in. (83.8 × 104.1 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Object Number:29.100.12
James S. Inglis, New York (purchased in Spain between 1882 and 1887–d. 1908; his estate, 1908–12; sold to Cottier); [Cottier & Co., New York, 1912; sold for $8,000 to Mrs. Havemeyer]; Mrs. H. O. (Louisine W.) Havemeyer, New York (1912–d. 1929)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The H. O. Havemeyer Collection," March 10–November 2, 1930, no. 66 [2nd ed., 1958, no. 188, as by Goya].
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Francisco Goya: His Paintings, Drawings and Prints," January 27–March 8, 1936, no. 16.
Detroit Institute of Arts. "Thirty-Eight Great Paintings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," October 2–28, 1951, no catalogue.
Art Gallery of Toronto. "Thirty-Eight Great Paintings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," November 14–December 12, 1951, no catalogue.
City Art Museum of St. Louis. "Thirty-Eight Great Paintings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," January 6–February 4, 1952, no catalogue.
Seattle Art Museum. "Thirty-Eight Great Paintings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," March 1–June 30, 1952, no catalogue.
Richmond. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. "Goya: Paintings, Prints, and Drawings," January 16–March 1, 1953, not in catalogue.
Austin, Tex. City Coliseum. "Texas Fine Arts Festival: Metropolitan Museum $1,000,000 Collection of Old Masters," April 18–26, 1953, unnum. checklist.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Goya: Drawings and Prints," May 4–30, 1955, no. 188.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Splendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection," March 27–June 20, 1993, no. A300.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Goya in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," September 12–December 31, 1995, unnumbered cat.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Manet/Velázquez: The French Taste for Spanish Painting," March 4–June 29, 2003, no. 16.
Agen. Eglise des Jacobins. "Goya, génie d'avant-garde: Le maître et son école," November 8, 2019–February 10, 2020, no. 26 (as by Workshop of Goya, attributed to Felipe Arrojo Valdés).
Valerian von Loga. Letter. December 27, 1912, finds similarities with "The Greasy Pole" (Gemäldegalerie, Berlin) and "Carnival" (formerly Herzog collection, Budapest; present location unknown); dates it about 1817 when Goya made the "Proverbios" (also known as the "Disparates") etchings.
August L. Mayer. Letter to Walter P. Fearon. December 21, 1912, judging from a photograph, observes that it seems to be an authentic, later painting by Goya, apparently from 1815–18.
V[alerian]. v[on]. L[oga]. Archiv für Kunstgeschichte 1 (1913–14), unpaginated, no. 45, pl. 45, as "Landschaft mit Fliegern," from about 1815.
Christian Brinton. "Goya and Certain Goyas in America." Art in America 3 (April 1915), p. 89, calls it "the prophetic fantasy known as The Flying Men".
August L. Mayer. "Goya." Die Kunst für Alle 38 (December 1922), p. 72, ill., as "Phantastiche Landschaft".
August L. Mayer. Francisco de Goya. Munich, 1923, pp. 93, 209, no. 551, pl. 254 [English ed., 1924, pp. 72, 174, no. 551, pl. 254], dates it about 1815–18.
Tomás G. Larraya. Goya: Su vida, sus obras. Barcelona, 1928, pp. 193–94.
X. Desparmet Fitz-Gerald. L'oeuvre peint de Goya: Catalogue raisonné. Paris, 1928–50, vol. 1, p. 275, no. 251, pl. 201; vol. 2, p. 307, no. 251, calls it "Caprice ou Scène Fantastique" from about 1815.
"The H. O. Havemeyer Collection." Parnassus 2 (March 1930), p. 4.
The H.O. Havemeyer Collection: A Catalogue of the Temporary Exhibition. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1930, p. 12, no. 66, ill., dates it 1815–18.
F.J. Sanchez Cantón. Goya. Paris, 1930, p. 99, finds the same rock motif in "Carnival" and "The Greasy Pole"; suggests that the rock itself may be based on Goya's memory of the hill of Villaseca in Toledo.
Frank Jewett Mather Jr. "The Havemeyer Pictures." The Arts 16 (March 1930), p. 467, ill., p. 458, calls it "Flying Men".
Harry B. Wehle. "The Exhibition of the H. O. Havemeyer Collection." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 25 (March 1930), pp. 58, 60.
H. O. Havemeyer Collection: Catalogue of Paintings, Prints, Sculpture and Objects of Art. n.p., 1931, pp. 48–49, ill.
Alfred M. Frankfurter. "Masterpieces of Landscape Painting in American Collections." Fine Arts 18 (December 1931), p. 76, ill. p. 32, calls it a "curious combination of early nineteenth century impressionism and romanticism" and observes that "its real meaning [is] probably lost in allegory".
Alfred M. Frankfurter. "An American Appreciation of Goya." Antiquarian 16 (March 1931), p. 72, ill. p. 31, compares its fantasy to the works of Hieronymous Bosch and Pieter Brueghel, and describes it as "the embodiment of Goya's Utopia".
Francisco Goya: His Paintings, Drawings and Prints. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1936, unpaginated, no. 16, ill., dates it probably after 1815; compares the flying men to those in the Prado "Asmodea" and in the "Disparates" prints.
Harry B. Wehle. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: A Catalogue of Italian, Spanish, and Byzantine Paintings. New York, 1940, pp. 252–53, ill., dates it later than 1815 based on the palette knife technique, which suggests it may have been painted by Eugenio Lucas; cites the verbal opinion of Harris [see Ref. 1938] who, he says, tentatively attributes this picture to Lucas.
José Gudiol. Goya. New York, 1941, p. 90, ill.
Josephine L. Allen and Elizabeth E. Gardner. A Concise Catalogue of the European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1954, p. 44.
Juan Antonio Gaya Nuño. La pintura española fuera de España. Madrid, 1958, p. 178, no. 1095, considers it a late work by Goya, probably dating after 1815.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The H. O. Havemeyer Collection. 2nd ed. New York, 1958, p. 34, no. 188, unnumbered pl.
Otto Benesch. "Rembrandt's Artistic Heritage: From Goya to Cézanne." Gazette des beaux-arts 56 (July 1960), p. 103, calls it "Siege of a Rock" and mentions it in relation to the blunt, silhouetted figures in Rembrandt's 1661 "Conspiracy of Julius Civilis," (Nationalmuseum, Stockholm).
Vyvyan Holland. Goya: A Pictorial Biography. New York, 1961, pp. 135, ill. p. 54, dates it about 1815.
Francisco Javier Sánchez Cantón. Goya. New York, [1964], pp. 46–47, fig. 119, observes that its attribution to Goya has been doubted, adding that if it is an imitation, "it is a masterly one".
José Gudiol. Goya. New York, 1965, pp. 38, 130, ill. p. 131 (color), attributes it to Goya, about 1810, and includes it in the group of pictures from 1810–20 that Goya's grandson described as "executed using fine reeds, open at the ends".
José Gudiol. "Paintings by Goya in the Buenos Aires Museum." Burlington Magazine 107 (January 1965), pp. 15–16, fig. 23, as by Goya; observes the dominant use of the "cane spatula" in this and several other Goya paintings; adds that Eugenio Lucas Villamil (1824–1870) [sic, for Eugenio Lucas Velázquez, 1817–1870], whose works are sometimes confused with Goya's, never painted with the spatula.
Gaspar Gómez de la Serna. Goya y su España. Madrid, 1969, pp. 223, 288, lists it among works painted by Goya from 1815–20 and relates the motif of the flying men to his pictures for the Quinta del Sordo.
Pierre Gassier and Juliet Wilson. Vie et oeuvre de Francisco Goya. Ed. François Lachenal. Fribourg, Switzerland, 1970, pp. 255–56, 265, no. 955, ill. [English ed., 1971], date it about 1812–16 and remark that its authenticity has been much discussed; believe this picture may have been among those Father Tomás López saw in Javier Goya's house and described as being painted by Goya with small cane knives; note the connection with the "Disparates" print of flying men and its preparatory drawing; mention a reduced version in the collection of Luis Rei, Barcelona, in 1935.
José Gudiol. Goya 1746–1828: Biographie, analyse critique et catalogue des peintures. Paris, 1970, vol. 1, pp. 178, 331, no. 674; vol. 4, figs. 1092, 1093 (color detail) [Spanish ed., 1969–70; English ed., 1971, vol. 1, pp. 183, 338, no. 674; vol. 4, figs. 1092, 1093 (color detail)], attributes it to Goya, about 1813–18, and calls it "Attack on a Fortress Standing on a Rock".
José Gudiol. "Goya, uno de sus experimentos pictóricos." Goya (January–February 1971), pp. 229–30, fig. 9 (detail), includes it in a group of pictures painted by Goya between 1813–18 with the use of a cane spatula.
Enrique García-Herraiz. "Crónica de Nueva York." Goya (September–October 1972), p. 107, notes its recent reattribution by the MMA to Eugenio Lucas.
Enriqueta Harris. Letter to Everett Fahy. January 29, 1973, still believes it cannot be by Goya [see Ref. Harris 1938] and notes that although "it is closer to Lucas than to any other imitator whose hand we know," it most closely resembles works that are attributed to Lucas rather than his documented oeuvre; thinks this picture may be by the same artist as "Ascension of a Montgolfiere" ["The Balloon"] in Agen, formerly attributed to Goya; mentions a picture in the Luis Rei collection that seems to be a poor copy.
Jeannine Baticle. Letter to Everett Fahy. February 22, 1973, considers an attribution to Goya completely unfounded but finds it more difficult to identify it with "Lucas père"; suggests an attribution to "school of Goya".
Enrique García-Herraiz. "En torno a Eugenio Lucas. A propósito de una exposición." Goya (May-June 1973), pp. 350–51, discusses the MMA's reattribution of the picture.
Rita de Angelis. L'opera pittorica completa di Goya. Milan, 1974, p. 128, no. 570, ill. p. 128 and colorpls. 44–45, dates this picture about 1813–16 and attributes it to Goya until further technical examination, noting that the MMA recently changed the attribution to Eugenio Lucas.
Eric Young. "Letter: The Goya in East Berlin." Burlington Magazine 116 (January 1974), p. 47, attributes this picture and "The Greasy Pole" (Gemäldegalerie, Berlin) to Goya.
Xavier de Salas. Letter to Katharine Baetjer. August 17, 1976, notes that this picture cannot be attributed to Goya or Lucas and that he has no idea who painted it.
José Manuel Arnaiz. Eugenio Lucas: Su vida y su obra. Madrid, 1981, pp. 113, 116, 522, no. 422, ill. pp. 117 (color) and 523 (overall and details), accepts the attribution to Eugenio Lucas Velázquez.
José Camón Aznar. Fran. de Goya. Vol. 4, Saragossa, 1982, p. 107, calls it "Attack on a Fortress at the Foot of a Mountain" by Goya and dates it 1818.
Frances Weitzenhoffer. The Havemeyers: Impressionism Comes to America. New York, 1986, pp. 207, 254, 268, pl. 144, notes the change of attribution to "Style of Goya".
Louisine W. Havemeyer. Sixteen to Sixty: Memoirs of a Collector. Ed. Susan Alyson Stein. 3rd ed. [1st ed. 1930, repr. 1961]. New York, 1993, pp. 132, 323 n. 181.
Susan Alyson Stein inSplendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1993, p. 260, fig. 106 (installation view).
Gretchen Wold inSplendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1993, p. 345, no. A300, ill.
José Luis Morales y Marín. Goya: Catálogo de la pintura. Saragossa, 1994, pp. 101, 319–20, no. 438, ill. [English ed., 1997], attributes it to Goya.
Janis Tomlinson. Francisco Goya y Lucientes, 1746–1828. London, 1994, p. 299, colorpl. 244, relates it to Goya's print "Modo de volar" from the "Disparates" series, published in 1864, and to his "black" paintings, some of which had been illustrated by Yriarte and exhibited in Paris in 1878; notes the weak composition and comments that the earliest mention of this picture dates from the 1880s, supporting the attribution to an artist working in the late nineteenth century "who could call on a variety of Goya's images and freely combine them with a painterly execution then widely regarded as the artist's trademark".
Susan Alyson Stein inGoya in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1995, pp. 47–48, 54, 62 n. 48, 68, figs. 28, 33 (installation view), notes that the picture, "which may have been made as late as 1875–80, is an inventive pastiche" with "a rigorous and harsh style of execution that is very much in keeping with late-nineteenth-century notions of Goya's 'mortared' technique".
Holland Cotter. "World of Goya and Those Who Would Be Goya." New York Times (September 15, 1995), p. C30.
Nigel Glendinning. "Book Reviews." Apollo 141 (March 1995), p. 66, registers surprise that Morales [Ref. 1994] considers this painting authentic despite its recent declassification by the MMA, "with the assent of many experts".
Manuela Mena Marqués. "The Metropolitan's 'Bullfight' and Other Related Paintings by Goya." Goya in the Museum's Collection: Controversies and Insights. October 20, 1995, describes it as obviously not by Goya and possessing "more or less subtle 'goyesque' characteristics".
Paul Jeromack. "Goya: Truth and Enlightenment." Art Newspaper no. 51 (September 1995), p. 12.
Paul Jeromack. "The 'Majas' Mystery." Art News 94 (December 1995), p. 121.
Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 166, ill.
Michael Kimmelman. "At the Met with Roy Lichtenstein: Disciple of Color and Line, Master of Irony." New York Times (March 31, 1995), pp. C1, C27, ill.
José Manuel Arnaiz. "Nuevas andanzas de Goya: Falsos y auténticos en el Metropolitan." Galería antiquaria no. 136 (February 1996), p. 42, attributes it to a follower of Goya, possibly Eugenio Lucas, whose style is characterized by short "rectilinear" brushstrokes and lacks Goya's "sinuosity".
Juliet Wilson-Bareau. "Goya in The Metropolitan Museum of Art." Burlington Magazine 138 (February 1996), p. 101, calls it "a striking example of the nineteenth-century 'misunderstanding' of Goya's art".
Janis A. Tomlinson. "Evolving Concepts: Spain, Painting, and Authentic Goyas in Nineteenth-Century France." Metropolitan Museum Journal 31 (1996), p. 199, fig. 8, calls it a pastiche without coherent narrative which "fulfilled expectations of what Goya should be"; finds similarities with the Agen paintings, "Caprice" and "The Balloon".
María Teresa Rodríguez Torres. "Economía de guerra en Goya. Cuadros pintados con cañas." Goya 250 años después, 1746–1996: Congreso internacional. Marbella, 1996, pp. 139–40, figs. 9–10 (x-rays), after x-ray examination of "Majas on a Balcony," "Bullfight in a Divided Ring," and "City on a Rock" (all MMA), concludes that all three are authentic Goyas; calls this picture's change of attribution from Goya to Lucas to "19th-century pastiche" an example of the lack of understanding about the cane reed technique.
Priscilla E. Muller. "Discerning Goya." Metropolitan Museum Journal 31 (1996), p. 175, fig. 1.
Michael Kimmelman. "At the Met with Wayne Thiebaud: A Little Weirdness Can Help an Artist." New York Times (August 23, 1996), p. C25, Thiebaud states that this picture directly influenced his own paintings of clusters of buildings atop sheer cliffs.
Manuela Mena Marqués inGoya: Un regard libre. Exh. cat., Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille. Paris, 1998, pp. 31, 258 n. 5.
Michael Kimmelman. Portraits: Talking with Artists at the Met, the Modern, the Louvre and Elsewhere. New York, 1998, pp. 90–91, ill. [text similar to Kimmelman 1995].
Juliet Wilson-Bareau in Gary Tinterow and Geneviève Lacambre. Manet/Velázquez: The French Taste for Spanish Painting. Exh. cat., Musée d'Orsay, Paris. New York, 2003, pp. 157, 420, no. 16, ill. p. 420 and fig. 5.33 (color), calls it "style of Goya," nineteenth century; erroneously mentions this painting as included in the doubtful 1828 inventory of Goya's works; observes that it was one of the first Goya works to be challenged in the 1960s; remarks on the stylistic connection with the Agen paintings, "The Balloon" and "Caprice," which came from Javier Goya's collection, casting doubt on their authenticity; discusses the possibility of an attribution to Eugenio Lucas, who owned four copperplates from the "Disparates" series; comments that this "spurious and misleading imitation can now be reevaluated as a response to the demand for Goyas by the nineteenth-century art market".
Juliet Wilson-Bareau inGoya en tiempos de guerra. Ed. Manuela B. Mena Marqués. Exh. cat., Museo Nacional del Prado. Madrid, 2008, p. 42.
Juliet Wilson-Bareau inGoya, génie d'avant-garde: Le maître et son école. Exh. cat., Eglise des Jacobins, Agen. Ghent, 2020, pp. 125–26, fig. 72 (color), as by Workshop of Goya, attributed to Felipe Arrojo Valdés based on comparison with sketches (Museo del Prado, Madrid; D04167) also attributed to Arrojo Valdés.
Véronique Gerard Powell. Goya, génie d'avant-garde: Le maître et son école. Exh. cat.Ghent, 2020, p. 190, no. 26.
Once attributed to Goya, this painting is now thought to be a pastiche by one of his followers and may have been painted as late as 1850–75. The motif of flying men appears to have been taken from etching no. 13 in Goya's Disparate series, "Modo de volar" (produced 1815–24, but not published until 1864), and from Asmodea, one of the black paintings made for Goya's country house, the Quinta del Sordo (1821–22; now Prado, Madrid). The rocky cliff is evident in several paintings whose attributions to Goya have also been questioned: The Greasy Pole (about 1808–12; Gemäldegalerie, Berlin), Carnival (about 1812; formerly Herzog collection, Budapest; present location unknown), and The Balloon and Caprice (about 1818–19; both Musée d'Agen). A reduced copy of The Met's picture was documented in 1935 in the Luis Rei collection, Barcelona.
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) (Spanish, Fuendetodos 1746–1828 Bordeaux)
1820
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