"Los Caprichos" was Goya's first important series of prints. These satirical caricatures boldly attack the attitudes, morals, and behaviors of the church, the Inquisition, the government, and the royal family, though Goya himself referred to them as merely "a collection of whimsical subjects." The series sold poorly and Goya was forced to remove them from the market after only two days. Ironically, the plates and remaining prints were given to the king in 1803 in exchange for a pension for Goya's son.
Details
- Artist Name: Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746-1828)
- Title: Caprichos
- Date: Before 1799
- Medium: Etching, burnished aquatint, drypoint, and burin on laid paper; with letters and numbers
- Edition: trial proof; Pre-First Edition, Copy B
- Dimensions: all sheets: 12 x 7 3/4 in. (30.48 x 19.685 cm); book: 1 x 8 1/4 x 12 1/8 in. (2.54 x 20.955 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1974.1.01-80.G
Object Information
Andrew W. Arnold (sale, London, Sotheby’s, 7 May 1929, lot 212).
Philip Hofer, sold 13 February 1974, through;
[Robert M. Light, Boston, for];
The Norton Simon Foundation.
Unflinching Vision: Goya's Rare Prints
- Norton Simon Museum, 2013-12-06 to 2014-03-03
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