Look how solemn they are!
1797 - 1799. Etching, Aquatint, Drypoint on laid paper.Not on display
Capricho 63, Look how solemn they are! is part of The Caprichos. The subject matter was common in representations of that period. The composition has three figures, one of whom is being ridden by the one closest to the viewer, and the same occurs in the corresponding print. These are the lazy drones who live off of others. The handwritten commentary at the Biblioteca Nacional observes: Only monstrosities are visible in the world: two fierce monsters bear people on their backs: one acts brave but is a thief, and the other is fanatical, but savage. Such are the Rulers and Leading Magistrates of the people; and yet they are called from afar, acclaimed and entrusted with the power to govern. The Museo del Prado has various works related to Capricho 63 (G02095/G00650/G01942/G02151/G00654), and there is also a steel-plated copper plate from the same series at Calcografía Nacional in Madrid (215 x 163 mm, 301.36 g. No. 3489). (Text from: Matilla, J.M. and others: El libro de los Caprichos. Francisco de Goya: dos siglos de interpretaciones, 1799-1999. Catálogo de los dibujos, pruebas de estado, láminas de cobre y estampas de la primera edición, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 1999. pp. 21, 322).
