In 1811, the liberal Antonio Puigblanch published in Cadiz The Inquisition Unmasked, in which he interpreted this scene as a criticism of the avarice of the inquisitors. Goya here takes the side of the convict, a victim of the excesses of the religious tribunals and their stalwart public, depicted as a formless crowd. Unlike other preparatory drawings for the Caprichos, made with a red chalk stick, for this image he used a brush to apply the red chalk washes.

Matilla Rodríguez, José Manuel, Ligereza y atrevimiento. Dibujos de Goya, Santander, Fundación Botín,, 2017, p.80 n.37; 176 n.37