Jake and Dinos Chapman built a shared career from the darkest corners of human history. They reworked Francisco Goya's war etchings into grotesque toy soldier dioramas and mutilated mannequins.
Working together from 1990 to 2022, they became known for gallows humour and deliberate shock. Their sculpture Disasters of War, first shown in 1993, recreated scenes from Goya's prints using thousands of plastic toy figures.
The pair trained together at the Royal College of Art and later worked as assistants to Gilbert and George. Printmaking ran through their joint practice for more than 30 years, including a series of lithographs made directly onto prints made from three of Goya's own surviving printing plates.
In 2022, the brothers ended their professional partnership.
Working together from 1990 to 2022, they became known for gallows humour and deliberate shock. Their sculpture Disasters of War, first shown in 1993, recreated scenes from Goya's prints using thousands of plastic toy figures.
The pair trained together at the Royal College of Art and later worked as assistants to Gilbert and George. Printmaking ran through their joint practice for more than 30 years, including a series of lithographs made directly onto prints made from three of Goya's own surviving printing plates.
In 2022, the brothers ended their professional partnership.
Summary
Jake and Dinos Chapman built a shared career from the darkest corners of human history. They reworked Francisco Goya's war etchings into grotesque toy soldier dioramas and mutilated mannequins.
Working together from 1990 to 2022, they became known for gallows humour and deliberate shock. Their sculpture Disasters of War, first shown in 1993, recreated scenes from Goya's prints using thousands of plastic toy figures.
The pair trained together at the Royal College of Art and later worked as assistants to Gilbert and George. Printmaking ran through their joint practice for more than 30 years, including a series of lithographs made directly onto prints made from three of Goya's own surviving printing plates.
In 2022, the brothers ended their professional partnership.
Working together from 1990 to 2022, they became known for gallows humour and deliberate shock. Their sculpture Disasters of War, first shown in 1993, recreated scenes from Goya's prints using thousands of plastic toy figures.
The pair trained together at the Royal College of Art and later worked as assistants to Gilbert and George. Printmaking ran through their joint practice for more than 30 years, including a series of lithographs made directly onto prints made from three of Goya's own surviving printing plates.
In 2022, the brothers ended their professional partnership.
Artworks by Jake and Dinos Chapman
About Jake and Dinos Chapman
Biography
About Jake and Dinos Chapman
Dinos Chapman was born in 1962, followed by Jake Chapman in 1966. The brothers enrolled together at the Royal College of Art in 1988 and graduated in 1990. During their studies, they worked as assistants to the artist duo Gilbert and George, colouring in prints for eight hours a day.
Goya, rewritten
The brothers' first major success came in 1991, with a sculptural work called Disasters of War. It recreated 83 scenes of torture from Goya's print series of the same name, using small plastic figurines arranged into dioramas. The piece established a lifelong preoccupation with Goya's imagery and in 2003, they bought an original 1937 reprint of Goya's Disasters of War etchings, made from the artist's own plates. They drew directly onto the prints, adding clown faces and cartoon grins to the figures within Goya's scenes, titling the piece, Insult to Injury. The gesture split critics, with some calling it vandalism and others a serious act of art history.
A career in editions
Printmaking sat alongside sculpture and drawing throughout the brothers' joint career. Their portfolio My Giant Colouring Book reworked a children's colouring book into 21 etchings, filled with the same violent, cartoonish imagery found in their sculpture.
In 2019, they produced Grande hazaña! Con muertos!, a series of lithographs made by intervening directly on three rare reprints of Goya's Disasters of War, printed from the original plates in 1937.
The Chapmans were nominated for the Turner Prize in 2003 and held solo shows at Tate Britain, the State Hermitage Museum and the Serpentine Gallery. In 2022, Jake Chapman announced that the brothers had ended their professional partnership, citing “seething disdain” and a shared feeling that they were “no longer having fresh ideas together”.
Biography
About Jake and Dinos Chapman
Dinos Chapman was born in 1962, followed by Jake Chapman in 1966. The brothers enrolled together at the Royal College of Art in 1988 and graduated in 1990. During their studies, they worked as assistants to the artist duo Gilbert and George, colouring in prints for eight hours a day.
Goya, rewritten
The brothers' first major success came in 1991, with a sculptural work called Disasters of War. It recreated 83 scenes of torture from Goya's print series of the same name, using small plastic figurines arranged into dioramas. The piece established a lifelong preoccupation with Goya's imagery and in 2003, they bought an original 1937 reprint of Goya's Disasters of War etchings, made from the artist's own plates. They drew directly onto the prints, adding clown faces and cartoon grins to the figures within Goya's scenes, titling the piece, Insult to Injury. The gesture split critics, with some calling it vandalism and others a serious act of art history.
A career in editions
Printmaking sat alongside sculpture and drawing throughout the brothers' joint career. Their portfolio My Giant Colouring Book reworked a children's colouring book into 21 etchings, filled with the same violent, cartoonish imagery found in their sculpture.
In 2019, they produced Grande hazaña! Con muertos!, a series of lithographs made by intervening directly on three rare reprints of Goya's Disasters of War, printed from the original plates in 1937.
The Chapmans were nominated for the Turner Prize in 2003 and held solo shows at Tate Britain, the State Hermitage Museum and the Serpentine Gallery. In 2022, Jake Chapman announced that the brothers had ended their professional partnership, citing “seething disdain” and a shared feeling that they were “no longer having fresh ideas together”.