The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of February 7, 2025

They Have Flown, Plate 61

They Have Flown, Plate 61

1799
(Spanish, 1746–1828)
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.)
Catalogue raisonné: Harris 96, 1st. edition, 1799; Perez Sanchez and Gallego p. 69 no. 61

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.
  • ?–1956
    Mr. E. Weyhe, New York, NY, to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    August 23, 1956–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Kruse, Jillian. Imagination in the Age of Reason: Prints and drawings showcase imagination's power." Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 65, no. 3 (2024): 6-7. Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 7. archive.org
  • Imagination in the Age of Reason. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 28, 2024-March 2, 2025).
    Goya, Gericault and Delacroix. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 25-April 24, 1983).
  • {{cite web|title=They Have Flown, Plate 61|url=false|author=Francisco de Goya|year=1799|access-date=07 February 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1956.272