Sopla (Blow), plate 69 from the first edition of Los Caprichos (Madrid, 1799)
Artist/Maker
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes
(Spanish, 1746–1828)
Date1797–99
MediumEtching and burnished aquatint
DimensionsImage: 6 7/8 × 4 1/2 in. (17.5 × 11.4 cm)
Plate: 8 1/4 × 5 3/4 in. (21 × 14.6 cm)
Sheet: 11 5/8 × 7 1/2 in. (29.5 × 19.1 cm)
Plate: 8 1/4 × 5 3/4 in. (21 × 14.6 cm)
Sheet: 11 5/8 × 7 1/2 in. (29.5 × 19.1 cm)
Credit LineRichard Lee Ripin Art Purchase Fund
EditionPlate 69 from the first edition of Los Caprichos (Madrid, 1799)
PortfolioPlate 69 from the first edition of Los Caprichos (Madrid, 1799)
Object number2022.4
Status
Not on viewAn emaciated figure holds a small child by the wrists and ankles. The child serves as a bellows, its flatulence fanning a flame that will perhaps roast other children. Haggard figures look on in the foreground, while a figure in the background arrives with a fresh load of infants.
The print’s caption can be interpreted as referring to both the child’s flatulence and the act being performed by the figure directly below it. Contemporary commentators proposed a variety of interpretations for this complex image, ranging from cannibalism to child abuse.
Exhibition History
The print’s caption can be interpreted as referring to both the child’s flatulence and the act being performed by the figure directly below it. Contemporary commentators proposed a variety of interpretations for this complex image, ranging from cannibalism to child abuse.
Wit and Wisdom: Political and Social Satire in the Prints of Hogarth, Goya, and Daumier
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (July 27, 2022 - December 23, 2022 )
Collections
- European
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1799
