Los Caprichos
1797/99, published 1799
Medium
80 etchings on ivory laid paper in a hard green binding with "Goya" in red and gold at the top on the spine
Dimensions
30.5 × 20.8 cm (12 1/16 × 8 1/4 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
37077
Art Historical Context
Francisco Goya's *Los Caprichos*, created between 1797 and 1799 and in 1799, stands as a bold masterpiece of printmaking from the Art Institute of Chicago Prints and Drawings collection. This complete set comprises 80 etchings on ivory laid paper elegantly bound in hard green covers with "Goya"azoned in red and on the spine. Measuring 30.5 × 20.8 cm, the volume captures Goya's transition from court painter to visionary critic during Spain's late Enlightenment era, a time of social upheaval and intellectual ferment. Renowned for their biting satire, the *Caprichos* etchings expose the follies ...
About the Artist
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes · 1746–1828
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was born on March 30, 1746, in the small Aragonese village of Fuendetodos, Spain, to José Benito de Goya, a master gilder, and Gracia de Lucientes. The fourth of six children in a modest lower-middle-class family, Goya received a basic education before beginning his artistic training at age 14 under the local painter José Luzán y Martínez in Zaragoza, where he sp...