Francisco Goya y Lucientes, Painter, plate one from Los Caprichos

Francisco Goya y Lucientes, Painter, plate one from Los Caprichos by Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes: A work made of etching, aquatint, drypoint and burin i…

What to notice

Look at Goya’s guarded sideways gaze beneath the broad hat; dense aquatint shadow frames the face and establishes the artist himself as the series’ opening subject.

Discover

Goya placed his own portrait at the opening of Los Caprichos. Etching defines the guarded profile while aquatint creates a deep tonal field, introducing an artist who observes the social follies explored in the plates that follow.