Las Manolas (also called "Trois Espagnoles)

Ignacio Zuloaga

This etching is plate 17, a plate initialed proof, apart from the pencil signed published edition in 'Germinal'. 'Germinal' was an "album of 20 gravures originales'", published in Paris in 1899 in an edition of 100. It was put together by Julius Meier-Graefe, and the artists were international. They included Behrens, Bonnard, Brangwyn, Carrière, Degas, Denis, Gauguin, van Gogh, Liebermann, Minne, Muller, Renoir, Rodin, van Rysselberghe, Stremel, Toorop, Toulouse-Lautrec, Vallotton, Vuillard and Zuloaga.

Also known as "Las Tres Manolas" or "Trois Espangnoles", this image depicts three Spanish women striking self-assured, almost defiant poses in the edgy, fashionable "maja" garb that was popular among the lower Spanish classes in the late 19th century.

The image was meant to snub the upper-class embrace of French fashion (considered a biproduct of the Enlightement, which was often blamed for the wealth gap of much of Spain) maja - or manola, chalupa, or chispera (fem.) - was an exaggerated take on traditional Spanish attire. Bright colors and bold, larger-than-life details dominated the styles seen at bullfights and other major public gatherings.