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Los Caprichos

Prints and Drawings

Los Caprichos is a series of 80 etchings and aquatints by the Spanish painter Francisco Goya, made in 1797 and 1798 and published in 1799. The prints satirize Spanish society of the period, attacking superstition, religious fanaticism, the Inquisition and the failings of the nobility and clergy through images ranging from social caricature to nightmarish scenes of witchcraft. Goya withdrew the series from sale after only about two weeks, apparently from fear of the Inquisition, and later gave the printing plates to the king; the collection, including its best known image The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, is now regarded as a founding work of modern printmaking and an important forerunner of Romanticism and even Surrealism.

Facts
Year Created
1797 1
Created 1797-1798 and published as an album in 1799, per cited source; 1797 recorded as the earliest creation year.
Medium
aquatint and etching 1
Classification
Genre
Printmaking 1
Connections

Associated With

Aquatint, Artistic Techniques

Los Caprichos is one of Goya's defining aquatint print series.

Created By

Sources
1. Los Caprichos (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Lead sentence, creation-date clause ('in 1797-1798')
    Los Caprichos is a set of 80 prints in aquatint and etching created by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya in 1797-1798 and published as an album in 1799.
  • Lead sentence, medium clause ('80 prints in aquatint and etching')
    Los Caprichos is a set of 80 prints in aquatint and etching created by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya in 1797-1798 and published as an album in 1799.
  • Genre reference
    Goya withdrew the series from sale after only about two weeks, apparently from fear of the Inquisition, and later gave the printing plates to the king; the collection, including its best known image The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, is now regarded as a founding work of modern printmaking and an important forerunner of Romanticism and even Surrealism.
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