El Amor Y La Muerte (Love and Death)

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. In an inverse of Plate 9 (44.536, Tantalo), now it is the woman who agonizes over her unresponsive lover. The man sags against her weight as he collapses awkwardly against a wall. The proximity and visual echo of their opened mouths suggests the intimacy of their relationship, while the sword at their feet indicates the tragic aftermath of a duel. The theme of this print has been linked to contemporary condemnations of dueling, which Enlightenment thinkers sought to eliminate because of its reliance on violence and emotion rather than civility and reason.

Object number44.485

Photo CreditPhoto: Scott Leen

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, burin