The strikingly original characterizations and sharply drawn scenes that came to be known posthumously as Los Desastres de la Guerra (The Disasters of War) are among Francisco Goyas most powerful works and one of the masterpieces of Western civilization. Goyas model for his visual indictment of war and its horrors was the Spanish insurrection of 1808 and the resulting Peninsular War with Napoleonic France. The bloody conflict and the horrible famine of Madrid were witnessed by Goya himself; or were revealed to him from the accounts of friends and contemporaries. From 1810 to 1820; he worked to immortalize them in a series of etchings.The artist himself never saw the results. The etchings were not published until 1863; some 35 years after his death. By then; the passions of the Napoleonic era had subsided and the satirical implications in Goyas work were less likely to offend. The Dover edition reproduces in its original size the second state of this first edition; which contained 80 prints. Three additional prints not in the 1863 edition are also included here; making this the most complete collection possible of the etchings Goya intended for this series. The bitter; biting captions are reprinted; along with the new English translations; as are the original title page and preface.
#1637711 in eBooks 2012-12-25 2012-12-25File Name: B00CB2MKEE
Review
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful. Spellbinding and Unbelievably Well ResearchedBy seywhutAn amazingly well researched and astounding story! It is spellbinding and I couldnt put the book down. This is no author opinionated piece. The acknowledgements and reference notes at the back are almost like a small book in itself. This author did her homework and was able to catch many people before they died to get a true picture of what Rose was like. People that are fans of Gypsy Rose Lee; her book and the stage shows and movies that followed will really enjoy reading this. It disproves some of the fables about Rose and also introduces a lot of things you never would have thought about. The only part of the book that I felt dragged on way too long was the ordeal over the suicide. Everything else is very informative and concise but doesnt just skim over things. It is dealt with very well but the story about the suicide obviously must have been a favorite topic of the authors. Overly critical persons will delight to find there are bloopers in the text getting toward the end of the book. I dont know why people have to dog people so critically over things like that but if that is something you cannot tolerate then I wouldnt advise you read the book. It is written more as "today"; modern. You feel like you are being told a wonderful story without the author trying to impress you with how many five dollar words they know. Again - I just cant say how amazingly well researched this is and without the authors diligence we would have lost a true piece of history and based our knowledge on what was legend and not pure fact. As I havent read Junes first book; the author seems to feel that Junes perspective is a bit more realistic. Not that it isnt stretched for attention but the facts line up pretty much with what the author has researched. Gypsys book was kind of all over the place. The basis was there but it was grossly exaggerated for humor sake. Anybody that ever knew Gypsy said she never told the same story the same way twice. Now you get to hear the stories as they really happened. The pictures are wonderful. Its too bad all of Gypsys pictures havent been released. There are some great candid shots in there.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Everythings coming up Rose!By PattieFinally! Heres the book Ive been wanting to read for years. Like most of you; I learned about Rose from the original movie starring Natalie Wood as Gypsy Rose Lee and the always brilliant Rosalind Russell as Madame Rose Hovic; the never-say-die stage mother from hell. I became fascinated by the story of this family and read as much as I could about them; starting with the autobiography of Gypsy. Im in "show biz" myself. Im a singer and musician. My mother was supportive; yet practical telling me "make sure you have something to fall back on". What Carolyn Quinn has done is write a biography using pain-staking research. Shes an excellent writer; and considering this is her first book she shows great promise for a literary career. Shes filled in all the gaps in their story and corrected a lot of pre-conceived notions about Rose. So; thank you Carolyn for setting the record straight and keeping the legacy of Rose Hovick alive!3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating Character StudyBy ThomObsessed with the musical "GYPSY; A Musical Fable" since I first saw a touring production in St. Paul; Minnesota while in college (with Bernadette Peters as on of the children I was to learn many years later) I was excited to hear that a book was about to be published on the life of the lead character; Mama Rose.Having directed two productions of this musical and designed three and seen several revivals and the movie and TV versions; I have been intriqued for years with the characters in this story especially Mama Rose Hovick.I have read both of her daughters; June Havoc and Gypsy Rose Lees books including two additional books about Miss Lee. All of them present various images of Rose as the mother determined to make a star of first one daughter and then the other in show business. To accomplish this goal she was not above doing whatever it took; both legal and illeagal; to achieve this goal. This doesnt always paint the typical version of what we think of as a mother and results in not a very nice picture of this driven; ruthless woman. As a result of this there are many storries about things she did to make her aspiratons happen which are bordering on the horrific.Carolyn Quinns recent biography; MAMA ROSES TURN; The True Story of Americas Most Notorious Stage Mother; is and incredibly detailed and reseached work which pokes some holes in some of these tales. In addition we learn so much more about this very complicated woman than ever comes out in the daughters memoirs. Perhaps some of the recollections of their childhood in Vaudeville are either inaccurate or have bewen dramatized for effect. Now we finally have the definitive story of Rose HovickI have for years told some of the horror stories that I had read in the earlier books and now have discovered many were not true.There is a great deal in this book of her background and family which makes one understand some of the things that may have influenced her actions in later life a little better. Ms. Quinn does not judge her; merely documents the events; both those of fact or fiction.My interest in this fascinating life story was mostly the Vaudeville years and her behavior during that period of time. I have for years felt that this compelling story would make a very good (non-musical version) movie and now with this book there are the facts the would translate to a very dramtic screenplay..Rose Hovick was a very complex and complicated woman with many issues who probably would have benefitted from some very serious psychological therapy. As a person of the theatre I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the entertainment business or those who would be interested in the effects on so many lives this woman made.