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And So Was His Grandfather (Asta su Abuelo)

1797-1798, published 1799
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746–1828)

In his prints Goya often ridicules the popular interest in genealogy among Spanish aristocrats of the 1700s. In the scene, a donkey proudly displays a book containing a family tree and points to a coat of arms, asserting his pedigree in a long line of asses. Remarkably Goya created this image entirely from aquatint tone without any etched lines to define contours or add detail.

Within Los Caprichos Goya created a suite of six prints depicting humans as donkeys, a common satirical device at the time that critiqued foolishness or ignorance in society.


Object Details

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