Plate 70 from ‘Los Caprichos’: Devout Profession (Devota profesion.)

Description

Devout Profession by Francisco Goya transforms a solemn ritual into an unsettling vision. Strange figures gather around a large open book, their exaggerated faces, awkward poses and birdlike companions creating a scene that is at once theatrical and disturbing. The sloping arrangement of bodies draws the eye upward toward the book and the figures who preside over it.

Published in 1799 as plate 70 of Los Caprichos, the work belongs to Goya’s celebrated world of social satire and fantasy. Fine etched lines and soft aquatint tones give the creatures a persuasive physical presence despite their absurdity. The elegant handwritten caption below adds a pointed contrast to the grotesque ceremony unfolding above.