Goya's Complete 'Caprichos' on View at Pescara Museum

The Museo Paparella Treccia Devlet in Pescara is presenting the complete series of Francisco Goya's 80 'Caprichos' etchings, curated by Michele Tavola. The exhibition follows two previous Goya shows at the museum (2014 on Tauromachy, 2023 on Disasters of War). The displayed prints belong to the fifth edition, produced between 1881 and 1886 in 210 copies by the calcography of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid. Goya created the 'Caprichos' between 1797 and 1798 using aquatint and etching, publishing them in 1799. The series caused scandal with the Inquisition due to its biting social critique of Spanish society, targeting vices, superstition, political corruption, and religious hypocrisy. The exhibition is structured in two sections: the first catalogs human vices (arranged marriages, prostitution, superstition), while the second, introduced by the iconic plate 'The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters,' delves into nightmarish visions of witchcraft and monstrous beings. Goya donated the unsold plates to King Charles IV in 1803 in exchange for a pension for his son. The museum also houses a collection of 146 ancient Castelli maiolica pieces and paintings from the 15th to 18th centuries.