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Of what ill will he die?, plate 40 from Los Caprichos

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

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

Date:

1797–98, published 1799

Artist:

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes
Spanish, 1746-1828

About this artwork

One of Goya’s best-known publications, Los Caprichos is an album of 80 whimsical prints that carry a biting critique of society’s foolishness. In the absurd scenario seen here, the artist ridicules the medical profession by depicting a doctor as a jackass. It is unclear whether the patient is dying from an illness or from the ignorant physician’s administrations.
Goya originally conceived the project as a series of dreams. On an early draft of the frontispiece, now in the collection of Museo del Prado in Madrid, he wrote, “The author dreaming. His only intention is to banish harmful beliefs commonly held and to perpetuate with this work of caprices the solid testimony of truth.”

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes

Title

Of what ill will he die?, plate 40 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 in brown on ivory laid paper

Dimensions

Image: 18.5 × 13.1 cm (7 5/16 × 5 3/16 in.); Plate: 21.5 × 15 cm (8 1/2 × 5 15/16 in.); Sheet: 30.1 × 20.7 cm (11 7/8 × 8 3/16 in.)

Credit Line

Clarence Buckingham Collection

Reference Number

1948.110.40

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/123801/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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