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Artwork Page for They Have Flown, Plate 61

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Los Caprichos

They Have Flown, Plate 61

1799
(Spanish, 1746–1828)
Spain, 18th century
etching and aquatint
Image: 18.6 x 12.9 cm (7 5/16 x 5 1/16 in.); Plate: 21.4 x 15 cm (8 7/16 x 5 7/8 in.); Sheet: 31.9 x 22.3 cm (12 9/16 x 8 3/4 in.)
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1956.272
Catalogue raisonné: Harris 96, 1st. edition, 1799; Perez Sanchez and Gallego p. 69 no. 61
Edition: First Edition
Location: not on view
Public Domain
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Did You Know?

When Los Caprichos was first published in 1799, the series was sold in a perfumery and liquor shop in Madrid.

Description

In the print series Los Caprichos, which translates as “caprices” or “artistic fantasies,” Francisco de Goya drew on his expansive imagination to comment on Spanish society. The artist’s critiques are not always clear, and many of the prints are intentionally ambiguous. Here, three witches support a young woman taking flight. Caught in the wind, her dress and veil transform her into a human butterfly, perhaps reflecting views at the time that characterized women as flighty. However, both the association of butterflies with life’s fragility and the presence of witches—often used by the artist to symbolize immorality and sex work—may instead invite a more sinister interpretation.
Black and grey print with sketchy lines of three people wearing dresses and hugging their knees as they fly, supporting another figure standing, legs and arms spread out. This person wears a low-cut white top with a dark skirt and holds a black veil between their hands, it and their black hair fanning out behind them. They wear a hat that appears like butterfly wings and have drooping eyelids and a downturned mouth.

They Have Flown, Plate 61

1799

Francisco de Goya

(Spanish, 1746–1828)
Spain, 18th century

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