Las Hilanderas after Velazquez - Etching by F. Muntaner - 1796

Large-format etching and engraving of Las Hilanderas by Velázquez, the Fable of Arachne, today in the Prado Museum. Engraved by Francisco Muntaner in 1796 after a drawing by Agustín Esteve, with the explanatory legend engraved below and printed at the Imprenta Real.

The engraving belongs to the series of the Company for the engraving of the paintings of the Royal Palaces (1791-1800), one of the great undertakings of the Spanish Enlightenment, in which Goya also worked. It is an uncommon sheet on the market.

Medium: Etching and engraving on laid paper
Artist / after: Agustín Esteve, after the painting by Diego Velázquez
Engraver / lithographer: Francisco Muntaner y Moner
Date: 1796
Source: Imprenta Real, Madrid; series of engravings of the paintings of the Royal Palaces
Dimensions: 22.0 x 18.8 in (56 x 47.8 cm)
Condition: Damp staining in the margins, two small tears repaired from the reverse with adhesive tape, and two tiny holes.