A way of flying

A way of flying (Spanish: Modo de volar) is a print by the Spanish painter and printmaker Francisco Goya. Created between 1815 and 1816, it is the 13th of the 22 aquatints making up the series Los disparates. Along with the rest of the series it was first published in 1864 by the Real Academia de Nobles Artes de San Fernando.[1]

A way of flying
Spanish: Modo de volar
Artist	Francisco Goya
Year	1815-16
Type	Etching, aquatint and drypoint
Medium	laid paper
Dimensions	24. cm × 35.8 cm (​8 ^7⁄16 in × ​5 ^7⁄8 in)
Location	Various print rooms have a print from the first edition. The one illustrated is at the Museo del Prado

This work is one of Goya's most cryptic and mysterious, and is open to a number of interpretation. Some have seen Goya's use of flight as a metaphor for instability, human irrationality and the inconstancy of fortune. Other commentators have seen it as a metaphor for political and philosophical innovation.[2]

Preparatory drawings

As with all of his prints, Goya produced a preparatory drawing for A way of flying. There is also an artist's proof that was made with just the etched image before the aquatint was added.[3]

• 
  Drawing
• 
  Artist's proof

Technique

A way of flying was made using etching and drypoint to create the lines and aquatint to create the background. It was made on laid paper.

Notes

1. "A way of flying". Philadelphia Museum of Art. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
2. "Modo de volar". Goya en el Prado. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
3. "A way of flying". Google arts and culture. Retrieved 3 June 2020.

External links

• Goya at the Prado