Plate 21 from ‘ Los Caprichos’: How they pluck her! (¡Qual la descañonan!)

Description

In How they pluck her!, a woman is subjected to the attention of grotesque figures, their activity making the idea of plucking an uncomfortable image of exploitation. Francisco Goya’s How They Pluck Her! turns the language of taking advantage into a physical encounter. The surrounding company seems intent on extracting something from the person at its center.

Plate 21 of Los Caprichos, published in 1799, uses etching and burnished aquatint to give this fantastic transaction an unsettling material presence. Goya’s satire connects an improbable scene to recognizable forms of interested assistance and predatory behavior. The caption draws attention to the action rather than offering an elaborate explanation. Its force lies in that directness, making the reduction of a person to a source of gain visible through gestures that combine apparent care with appetite.

Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Goya collection.