To Rise and to Fall 18th-19th century

Curator: Take a look at Francisco Goya's aquatint etching, "To Rise and to Fall." Editor: Oh, it's wild! Chaotic energy just bursts from the scene, like a nightmare you can’t quite shake. Curator: Goya often critiqued the social structures of his time through prints. Notice how the central figure dominates, literally stepping on another? Editor: It's brutal. Is he saying power is always gained at someone else's expense? You climb, they fall. It's so raw. Curator: Exactly. And consider the printmaking process itself— the acid biting into the plate, mirroring the corrosive nature of power dynamics. Editor: The way he uses light and shadow... those figures looming in the background... it’s all unsettling. It leaves you feeling uneasy about progress, doesn't it? Curator: A potent visual statement on the costs of ambition. Editor: Definitely lingers, like a dark fairytale.