Group of seven etchings with aquatint on wove paper
Spain, circa 1799
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) – Spanish painter and printmaker
‘El sí pronuncian y la mano alargan al primero que llega (They say yes and give their hand to the first comer)’; ‘A caza de dientes (Out hunting for teeth)’; ‘Todos caerán (Everyone will fall)’; ‘Ruega por ella (She prays for her)’; ‘Al conde palatino (To the count palatine)’; ‘Le descañona (She fleeces him)’; ‘Está vuestra merced...pues, como digo...¡eh! ¡cuidado! si no... (You understand?...Well, as I say...eh! Look out! Otherwise...)’
Each plate titled lower center; numbered upper right
Plates 2, 12, 19, 31, 33, 35, 76 from ‘Los Caprichos’
Delteil 39, 49, 56, 68, 70, 72, 113; Harris 37, 47, 54, 66, 68, 70, 111
Full margins with deckled edges
Plate dimensions, each: 8 ¼ x 6 in. (21 x 15.2 cm.)
Sheet dimensions, each: 13 ? x 9 ? in. (35.2 x 25.1 cm.)

“Los Caprichos”, or The Caprices, are an absorbing and disturbing series of eighty etchings and aquatints depicting a wide variety of subjects; an artistic experiment, this series portrayed Goya’s condemnation of the universal follies and foolishness of the Spanish society in which he lived. Although the term “caprice” has been used widely throughout the course of art history – often depicting imagined architectural fantasies – Goya’s use of the term for his title evokes a different use of imagination as David Rosand points out: "Goya turned the inventive powers of the artist back upon his audience with indicting moral force. Pressing the limits of poetic license, he effectively annulled the contract between artist and society that had sustained the development of the capriccio." (David Rosand, “Introduction”, Graphic Evolutions: The Print Series of Francisco Goya by Janis Tomlinson, New York, 1989).

Executed circa 1799, this group of seven etchings from Los Caprichos are each numbered and titled. Each plate measures 8 ¼ x 6 inches. Minor wear around sheet edges, as well as pale scattered toning in small areas on a few.

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746-1828)

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was an Aragonese Spanish painter and printmaker. Goya was a court painter to the Spanish Crown and a chronicler of history. He has been regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and as the first of the moderns. The subversive and subjective element in his art, as well as his bold handling of paint, provided a model for the work of later generations of artists, notably Manet and Picasso.