Art Institute of Chicago

There They Go Plucked (i.e. fleeced), plate 20 from Los Caprichos

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes

1797/99

Attribution

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes Spanish, 1746-1828

Medium

Etching and aquatint on ivory laid paper

Physical dimensions

Image: 19.8 × 13.3 cm (7 13/16 × 5 1/4 in.); Plate: 21.8 × 15.2 cm (8 5/8 × 6 in.); Sheet: 30 × 20.7 cm (11 13/16 × 8 3/16 in.)

Credit line

Clarence Buckingham Collection

From the museum

In Los caprichos (meaning caprices or whims), a series of etchings by Francisco de Goya, the artist presented his veiled criticisms of late-18th-century Spanish society. Here he depicted ne’er-do-wells—in the form of plucked chicken-men—being cheated by prostitutes. Emphasizing the intended moral of the work’s title, Goya commented of the chickenmen: “If they have already been plucked, get them out: there will be others coming along.” He went so far as to express his anticlerical attitude—dangerous for a man living during the Spanish Inquisition—by including two friars, who stand behind the prostitutes, tolerating, if not condoning, the scene before them.

Description: Art Institute of Chicago · CC BY 4.0