Francisco De Goya (1746-1828) - Muchachos al avío, plate from Los Caprichos

Etching from the series Los Caprichos by Francisco de Goya
This set of 80 copper plate etchings was published for the first time in 1799, but Los caprichos were withdrawn from public sale very shortly after their release, after only 27 copies of the set had been purchased.
The print here for sale is from the edition by Jean de Bonnot in 1970.
it is printed on Vélin de Lana paper and stamped by the publisher on the reverse.
The publisher certifies that each etching is printed from the original engraving and not from a reproduction.
Sheet size : 45 x 31 cm.

The prints were an artistic experiment: a medium for Goya's condemnation of the universal follies and foolishness in the Spanish society in which he lived. Goya described the series as depicting "the innumerable foibles and follies to be found in any civilized society, and from the common prejudices and deceitful practices which custom, ignorance or self-interest have made usual".

The work was an enlightened, tour-de-force critique of 18th-century Spain, and humanity in general. The informal style, as well as the depiction of contemporary society found in Caprichos, makes them (and Goya himself) a precursor to the modernist movement almost a century later.