Group of ten etchings with aquatint on wove paper
Spain, circa 1799
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) – Spanish painter and printmaker
‘Tatalo (Tantalus)’; ‘Que Sacrificio! (What a Sacrifice!)’; ‘Ysele quema la Casa. (And his house is on fire)’; ‘Qual la descanonan! (How they pluck her!)’; ‘Ya tienen aviento (They've already got a seat)’; ‘Los Chinchillas (The Chinchillas)’; ‘Hasta la muerte (Until death)’; ‘No grites, tonta (Don't cry, idiot)’; ‘¿Està Um pues, Como digo…eh. Cuidado y no (You understand?...well, as I say…eh! Look out! Otherwise…)’; ‘Ya es hora ('Tis the Hour, Time to Be Off)’
Each plate titled lower center; numbered upper right
Plates 9, 14, 18, 21, 26, 50, 55, 74, 76, 80 from ‘Los Caprichos’
Delteil 46, 51, 55, 58, 63, 86, 92, 111, 113, 117; Harris 44, 49, 53, 56, 61, 84, 90, 109, 111, 115
Full margins with deckled edges; matted
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.)
Various conditions

“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 ten 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 is widely regarded as the most important Spanish painter and printmaker of his time. Best known for his tapestry cartoons, subtle satirical etchings and psychological portraits – all critiquing the bourgeoisie – Goya is regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the modern artists. 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.