Eugenio Lucas Velazquez; Mancha; ca. 1840-1870; ink wash on paper; 6 1/8 in. x 9 1/4 in. (15.56 cm x 23.5 cm); Lucas engaged in two distinct categories of artistic production. One of these was a self- conscious emulation of the work of Goya; in both paintings and drawings. The second category was visionary in nature; consisting of drawings in brown or black ink that often began as vaguely conceived landscapes; then evolved into subjects resembling cataclysmic deluges; finally achieving near-total abstraction 'avant la lettre.' Lucas was said to have engaged in a hasty ink-blot technique in which splashes of ink or watercolor; dropped randomly on paper; would determine the image that ultimately emerged. These 'taches;' or; in Spanish; 'manchas' (meaning stain or blotch); are similar but perhaps unrelated to Victor Hugo's contemporary experiments with ink stains and remain an extraordinary achievement.