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When Day Breaks We Will Be Off, plate 71 from Los Caprichos

A work made of etching and aquatint on ivory laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of etching and aquatint on ivory laid paper.

Date:

1797/99

Artist:

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes
Spanish, 1746-1828

About this artwork

Once again Goya features a malicious group of haggard women, usually interpreted as witches. They rest before daybreak to take flight, with or without broomsticks. Despite their caricatured expressions, their interactions can still be universally understood. The most prominent witch signals which direction they will head once the sun rises. She will presumably drag the group of children tied to her waist with her for evil purposes. Not unlike Goya’s earlier Caprichos plates, the figures of the witches rely heavily on using line, while the velvety night sky and bright stars are created using aquatint.

Status

On View, Gallery 220

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes

Title

When Day Breaks We Will Be Off, plate 71 from Los Caprichos

Place

Spain (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1797–1799

Medium

Etching and aquatint on ivory laid paper

Dimensions

Image: 17.3 × 12.7 cm (6 13/16 × 5 in.); Plate: 19.8 × 14.9 cm (7 13/16 × 5 7/8 in.); Sheet: 30.1 × 20.5 cm (11 7/8 × 8 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Clarence Buckingham Collection

Reference Number

1948.110.71

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/123831/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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