Goya etching. Fernando de Austria, after Velazquez.

It is one of the engravings in the series on which Goya worked with the greatest haste and meticulousness. He carried out at least five state tests that are preserved in the National Library. The first with the first etching, before the second etching, the roulette and the aquatint. This one has a note on the pencil line. The next two vary according to authors; for Sayre it is the second and for Harris it is the third in which he adds horizontal lines in the sky and in the landscape, reinforces the bushes and the figure of the infant. False partially burnished bites can be found on the dog's neck, on the sides of the infant's left leg, and on its left finger. This test was performed before roulette and aquatint and is also toned in partially blurred black pencil. On the lower edge, Felipe IV King of Spain has been handwritten with graphite pencil, a copy by Goya, in 1778, of an original by Velazquez. It is proof and the sheet was rendered useless. The third test of state for Sayre and the second for Harris is the one in which Goya applies the third etching and extends the bushes up to the figure of the infant, there are burnishes on the left edge and in the false bites of the bottom, of the infant's leg and the neck and collar of the dog. The test was done before roulette and aquatint. Manuscript on attached paper with handwriting possibly by Carderera Proof, perhaps the only one in this state, before the background is very dark. The last proof of state that is preserved is the fifth, made with aquatint before he wrote the letter on the plate. In it appears an ink manuscript on the lower edge An Elephant from Spain. Life-size painting by D.n Diego Velazquez in the Royal Palace of Madrid. Drawn and engraved by Fran.co Goya painter. This proof of status came from the Valentín Carderera collection and the engraved title was later added to the plate. Likewise, 4 stamps from different editions are preserved. The one corresponding to the first edition is located between 1780 and 1785, in etching, aquatint and roulette and comes from the Recovery Fund, in 1948. The stamp of the second edition was made in grayish sepia between the years 1815 and 1820. The third edition it was made in etching, aquatint and roulette, before the year 1868. The last one belongs to the third edition, around the year 1868 and it was carried out in etching, aquatint and roulette. In it appears a manuscript in the lower right corner Merelo.