Goya, an account of his life and worksCalvert, Albert Frederick
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Goya, an account of his life and works
Calvert, Albert Frederick
Goya, Francisco, 1746-1828
‘Bravissimo!’ A donkey applauds a monkey who plays on the guitar.
Possibly a skit on Charles IV. and Godoy.
39. Asta su abuelo.
‘As far as his grandfather.’ An ass contemplates the portraits of other
asses. Satire on those who seek to establish long pedigrees for
themselves.
40. De qué mal morirá?
‘Of what will he die?’ An ass feels a dying man’s pulse. Perhaps a
reflection on the faculty was intended.
41. Ni más ni menos.
‘Neither more nor less.’ A donkey sits for his portrait to a monkey, who
is painting a horse. Satire on artists who paint pictures of those whom
they have never seen.
42. Tú que no puedes.
‘Thou who canst not....’ Two men staggering under the weight of two
asses. The men represent the people, the asses perhaps the governing
classes.
43. El sueño de la razon produce monstruosos.
‘The sleep of reason induces monstrous thoughts.’ Bats and owls fly
round a sleeping man, and place a pencil in his hand wherewith to
reproduce his vision.
44. Hilan delgado.
‘They spin linen.’ Old women spinning.
45. Mucho hay que chupar.
‘There is a lot to taste.’ Around a basket full of new-born children sit
three topers. Meaning obscure.
46. Corrección.
‘Correction.’ Fantastic figures with heads of birds and animals. Said to
be an allusion to the Holy Office.
47. Obsequio à el maestro.
‘Homage to the master.’ Wizards and witches offering a new-born infant
to their chief.
48. Soplones.
‘Blowers.’ Devil on a cat is rousing some sleeping monks.
49. Duendecitos.
‘Little ghosts.’ Three monstrous beings in clerical garb. Attack on the
clergy.
50. Los chinchillas.
Two persons with costumes heraldically decorated, their eyes closed, and
with padlocks on their ears, are being fed by a third, blindfolded, and
with ass’s ears. Allusion to the aristocracy, represented to be the
victims of superstition and ignorance.
51. Se repulen.
‘They polish each other’s nails.’ Three demons clawing each other.
52. Lo que puede un sastre!
‘What a tailor can do!’ Devotees prostrate themselves before an
ecclesiastical vestment hung on a tree. The meaning is obvious.
53. Que pico de oro!
‘What an Orator!’ A parrot preaching to friars and others.
54. El vergonzoso.
‘How shameful.’ A man is eating from a dish held by another person. The
suggestion does not lend itself to explanation.
55. Hasta la muerte.
‘Till death.’ A hideous old crone trying on a head-dress before a mirror
to the amusement of a number of spectators.
56. Subir y bajar.
‘Ascent and fall.’ A monstrous satyr, representing Vice, is holding up a
manikin [Godoy], while other figures are falling headlong.
57. La filiación.
‘Well mated.’ An espousal ceremony. The bride has an animal’s head, and
carries her own face in her lap. The bridegroom is a hideous and
repulsive-looking dwarf. A woman makes an entry in a book. Meaning
obscure.
58. Trágala, perro.
‘Swallow that, dog!’ A monk threatens with an enormous syringe a
kneeling priest surrounded by other monks.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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