Plate 50 from "Los Caprichos": The Chinchillas (Los Chinchillas)

Art Historical Context

Francisco de Goya y Luc, one of Spain's greatest artists and a pivotal figure bridging the Enlightenment and Romanticism, created *Plate 50 from " Caprichos": Thechillas* in 1799. This print is part of his groundbreaking series of 80 etchings, published amid Spain's social and political upheavals, where Goya boldly satirized the follies, superstitions, and corruptions of late 18th-century society clergy and nobility to everyday vices. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, it measures a intimate plate size of 8 x 5 13/16 inches, inviting close contemplation. Goya's technical virtuosity shines through his innovative use of etching, burnished aquatint, and burin. Etching provided sharp lines for expressive figures (notably men, as tagged here), while aquatint introduced velvety tonal gradations mimicking painting. Burnishing softened highlights, and the burin added precise details, allowing Goya to achieve dramatic contrasts on a small scale. These methods elevated printmaking from mere reproduction to a medium for profound artistic statement. *The Chinchillas* captures Goya's dark humor and unflinching critique, reflecting his shift toward introspective, fantastical imagery that influenced modern art. A gift to the Met in 1918, it remains a testament to his enduring legacy as a moral provocateur.

About the Artist

Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) · 1746–1828

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) was a Spanish painter and printmaker considered the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Rising from modest provincial origins to become First Court Painter to Charles IV, Goya's career spanned the Enlightenment's optimism and the brutal Napoleonic invasion that shattered it. A mysterious illness in 1793 left him permanently deaf and ...