Francisco de Goya

FRANCISCO DE GOYA Y LUCIENTES (Fuendetodos, Zaragoza, 1746 - Bordeaux, France, 1828).
"Los Caprichos.
Editorial Planeta.
Issue 243/2988.

"Los Caprichos" is a series of eighty engravings that represent a satire of the Spanish society of the time, especially the nobility and the clergy. They were made, in a technique combining etching, aquatint and drypoint, in the late eighteenth century, and the series was first published in 1799, although it was soon withdrawn for fear of the Inquisition, and was only on sale for fourteen days.
There is currently no real consensus about the interpretation of these engravings by Goya, and in fact there are several contemporary manuscripts that explain the plates of "Los Caprichos". The one in the Museo del Prado is considered to be Goya's autograph, but it seems to be rather misleading and to seek a moralizing meaning that conceals more risky meanings for the author. The other two, the one that belonged to Ayala and the one in the National Library, enhance the most lurid part of the plates.