Plate 7 from "Los Caprichos": Even thus he cannot make her out (Ni asi la distingue)

Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)

1799 · Etching, aquatint, drypoint · Drawings and Prints

In Goya’s depiction of poor perception, a man with a monocle scrutinizes a maja, watched by figures seated in the background. His dress and body language, which link him to the ridiculed fop or dandy, and the fact that he is relying on sight alone suggest that he lacks the discernment to assess the woman’s true nature. The flirty and self-possessed maja has been identified as a prostitute and the man as a foolish admirer whose desires render him complicit with her deception. Thus, the scene also refers to a lack of understanding between the sexes, a theme Goya explored throughout the Caprichos.

Artist

Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)

Date

1799

Medium

Etching, aquatint, drypoint

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of M. Knoedler & Co., 1918