Plate 55 from "Los Caprichos": Until death (Hasta la muerte)

Original title: Plate 55 from "Los Caprichos": Until death (Hasta la muerte)

Artist: Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
Date: 1799
Medium: Etching, burnished aquatint, drypoint
Dimensions: Plate: 8 3/8 × 5 15/16 in. (21.3 × 15.1 cm) Sheet: 11 5/8 × 8 1/4 in. (29.5 × 21 cm)
Credit line: Gift of M. Knoedler & Co., 1918

kurzbeschreibung

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes made this print in 1799 as the 55th plate of his etching series Los Caprichos. It pictures a seated woman in a dark room, holding a flower and studying a partially hidden figure. The etching with aquatint and drypoint is a socially critical allegory of vanity and mortality.

Description

In the foreground, a woman in a white dress sits with a flower in her hand, looking at someone seated opposite her who is partly blocked from view. Behind the two, two more figures stand and watch what happens. A table in front of the woman holds a picture that repeats a similar scene—a reflection within the image. The room is dark, the light dim, the shadows heavy, creating a somber mood. Gray tones dominate the palette and deepen the melancholy impression.

Context

Los Caprichos were made between 1797 and 1799, a time of political upheaval in Spain. Across 80 plates, Goya attacks social ills such as superstition, prostitution, and the follies of the aristocracy. Plate 55, "Hasta la muerte" (Until Death), addresses female vanity that persists into old age—a motif often criticized during the Enlightenment. Goya published the series in 1799 but soon withdrew it from sale because of the Inquisition.

Impact

The dark, shadow-heavy design of this plate evokes an oppressive, inward-looking mood. The picture-within-a-picture prompts reflection on the repetition of vanity and transience. The precise shading draws the eye to the central figure and underscores the moral message.

Technique

The print was executed as an etching with burnished aquatint and drypoint on paper. Aquatint allows fine tonal gradations and deep shadows, while drypoint adds delicate lines and details. Together, the two techniques produce a rich graphic texture that carries the gloomy atmosphere of the scene.

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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)