God save us from such a bitter fate; a bandit threatening a woman and a child with a knife, page 41 from the "Black Border Album" (E)ca. 1816–20
A bandit raises a knife over a terrified woman and her child, and Goya’s caption pleads, “God save us from such a bitter fate.” More about this work
About this work
A bandit raises a knife over a terrified woman and her child, and Goya’s caption pleads, “God save us from such a bitter fate.” The drawing comes from the so-called Black Border Album, one of the private albums Goya filled late in life, named for the black ink borders framing each page. Made for himself rather than for sale, these brush drawings in grey and black washes record violence, folly and misery with startling freedom; a scraper was used to lift highlights from the wash.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Francisco Goya
Spanish, 1746–1828 · Born in Fuendetodos; died in Bordeaux.
Goya began with tapestry designs for the royal factory in Madrid and rose to become first painter to the Spanish court under Charles IV. After a serious illness left him deaf in the 1790s, his work grew darker and more personal. His etched series, Los Caprichos and The Disasters of War, satirise folly and record the atrocities of the Peninsular War, and he painted the Black Paintings directly on the walls of his own house. He spent his last years in exile in Bordeaux.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Met has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 35.103.50
- Credit
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Type
- Drawings
- Department
- Drawings and Prints
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
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