¡Que Sacrificio! (What a Sacrifice!)

Datelate 18th-early 19th century

Maker Francisco José Goya y Lucientes Spanish, 1746-1828

Label TextWelcome to the eerie and enigmatic world of Los Caprichos! In this astonishing series of prints, Francisco de Goya (1746–1828) takes aim at Spanish society at the close of the 18th century. This was an era marked by numerous social upheavals: the fiscal crises wrought by war and taxation, the shifting power dynamics of the ruling classes, the draconian fanaticism of the Spanish Inquisition, and the turning point in European thought known as the Enlightenment. In sardonic and often surrealistic vignettes, the Los Caprichos series lays bare the outmoded belief systems, irrelevant superstitions, ignorance, decadence, and hypocrisy of the status quo, and it champions reason, justice, social reform, and intellectual freedom. Accompanying texts added by Goya hint at the meaning of each image, which is often obscure to us. Because the series follows no sequential narrative, its stories are open to many interpretations. This etching returns to the theme of unequal partners in marriage. An attractive young woman enters into a union with a hunchbacked, bowlegged older man. His fashionable waistcoat and elaborately patterned breeches indicate his elevated social status, leading us to conclude that the bride is sacrificing her own happiness to secure the groom’s fortune for herself and her family. One contemporary commentator remarked, “The fiancé is not very attractive, but he is rich and, in return for the liberty of an unhappy girl, he buys the security of a hungry family. It is the way of the world.”

Object number44.481

Exhibition HistorySeattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, SAM on Paper: Francisco de Goya’s Los Caprichos, October 3, 2025 - March 29, 2026.

Credit LineEugene Fuller Memorial Collection

MediumEtching, aquatint, drypoint