Can't anyone untie us? (¿No hay quien nos desate?), Los Caprichos

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Artwork Details

Title:	Can't anyone untie us? (¿No hay quien nos desate?), Los Caprichos
Artist:	Francisco Goya (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Illustration
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	563
Likes on CAF:	3 4
Comments:	6
Added to Site:	11/20/2020
Comic Art Archive:

Description

If Goya was alive and working today, he would probably be categorized (in part) as a political cartoonist or perhaps a caricaturist. He would probably sell as many copies of his Los Caprichos as he did in his lifetime. In other words, not many - though in those days, possibly out of fear of being hauled in by the Inquisition.

This plate is likely from the first printing of about 300 copies with provenance going back to the early 19th century. The original copper plates reside in the Calcografía Nacional.

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FRANCISCO DE GOYA Y LUCIENTES (1746-1828) Can't anyone untie us? (¿No hay quien nos desate?) Plate 75 from: Los Caprichos. Etching with burnished aquatint, drypoint and engraving, on laid paper, a very good impression from the First Edition, published by the artist, Madrid, 1799, framed. Plate: 83⁄8 x 57⁄8 in. (213 x 149 mm.) Sheet: 113⁄4 x 8 in. (298 x 203 mm.)

Provenance. Presumably Manuel Fernández Durán y Pando, Marqués de Perales del Río (1818-1886), Madrid. Don Pedro Fernández-Durán (1846-1930), Madrid; with his stamp (Lugt 747b); presumably by descent from the above.

Prado manuscript: ‘A man and a woman are tied together with ropes. They struggle to be freed and scream to be separated immediately. If I am not mistaken, are not these two people who have been married by force?’

'The Ayala and Biblioteca Nacional texts confirm that the subject of this print is, on the one hand, arranged marriages as an indication of the low moral standards of the times, and on the other, the antiquated attitude of the clergy which opposed divorce even under these circumstances. [Eleanor] Sayre notes that the large owl which overlooks this scene was not a symbol of wisdom in eighteenth century Spain but rather was a symbol of stupidity and other evils. Sayre also suggests that the owl's ‘old fashioned spectacles’ might stand for ‘outmoded custom, the weight of convention, or religious dogma that would not permit divorce.’

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About the Owner

	Suat Tong Ng
Joined:	March 2009
Last Login:	September 2025
Website:	http://hoodedutilitarian.com
Country:	SINGAPORE
On CAF:	Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF

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Comments on this Artwork

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Mark Howland
Member Since 2004

1 - Posted on 11/20/2020

No offense intended, but that's a nightmare-worthy image. The detail in the "background," grass and tree, is amazing.

Comic Art Channel
Member Since 2018

1 - Posted on 11/21/2020

Love the meaning and statement here. Can count on you to expand my horizons, Suat!

GAB R
Member Since 2007

Posted on 5/1/2021

I missed them. Trully a very special arts you own here. Goya´s engraving with this "los caprichos" and with "los desastres de la guerra" are among his most fascinating works only exceeded in that enigmatic sense and darkness by "las pinturas negras", all of them exhibited at El Prado and this last series with a whole room at the museum that really keep you breathless. Unbeatable!

Bill J
Member Since 2009

Posted on 5/15/2021

Jaw-dropping art from Goya! How cool that you include such a historic artist in your CAF gallery!

Bill J
Member Since 2009

Posted on 6/27/2021

Superb!

artless artmore
Member Since 2013

Posted on 3/20/2022

Fabulous! Goya was political and he was into fantastic imagery. This owl reminds me of creatures in some of his other famous etchings, such as "The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters."

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