Caprichos: For Heaven's Sake: and it Was Her Mother (Dios la perdone: Y era su madre)
c. 1798
Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746-1828)
Not on View

Goya was the foremost Spanish artist of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Born in northern Spain, Goya lived through one of Europe's most volatile periods, including the French Revolution, Napoleon's occupation of Spain, and the ensuing civil war. Although Goya was a court favorite, employed by royalty and aristocrats, he opposed Spain's severe political and social climate, and often included witty critiques of his own clients in his work.

"Los Caprichos," printed in 1799, 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: For Heaven's Sake: and it Was Her Mother (Dios la perdone: Y era su madre)
  • Date: c. 1798
  • Medium: Etching, aquatint and drypoint on laid paper; before letters and number
  • Edition: working proof
  • Dimensions: sheet: 10 7/8 x 7 13/16 in. (27.62 x 19.84 cm); plate: 7 7/8 x 5 7/8 in. (20 x 14.92 cm)
  • Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
  • Accession Number: F.1973.14.02.05.G
  • Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation

Object Information

Ricardo de los Rios.
Philip and Frances Hofer, sold 28 June 1973, 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

Francisco de Goya's 'Los Caprichos'

  • Norton Simon Museum, 1987-02-19 to 1987-07-19
  • Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 956 p. 355
  • Juliet Wilson-Bareau, Goya in the Norton Simon Museum, 2016, cat. 32 pp. 93, 260, 287

Additional Artwork by Artist

Copies after Velázquez: Isabel de Borbón Francisco de Goya y Lucientes 1778-79
Copies after Velázquez: Un infante de España (Infante Don Fernando) Francisco de Goya y Lucientes c. 1778-79
Desastres de la Guerra Francisco de Goya y Lucientes c. 1810-15

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