And so was his grandfather
And so was his grandfather (Spanish: Hasta su abuelo) is an aquatint by the Spanish painter and printmaker Francisco Goya. Created between 1797 and 1799 for the Diario de Madrid, it is the 39th of the 80 aquatints making up the satirical Los caprichos.[2]
| And so was his grandfather | |
|---|---|
| Spanish: Hasta su abuelo | |
 | |
| Artist | Francisco Goya |
| Year | 1797-99 |
| Type | Aquatint |
| Medium | laid paper |
| Dimensions | 21.4 cm × 15 cm (8 7⁄16 in × 5 7⁄8 in) |
| Location | Various print rooms have a print from the first edition. The one illustrated is at the Museo del Prado[1] |
The print is a satire on the Spanish nobility's obsession with ancestry and genealogical trees, and suggests that foolishness rather than nobility is hereditary. In particular, some[3] have suggested that the print is aimed at the infamous politician Manuel Godoy, the prince of peace, who justified his rapid climb through the Spanish establishment by claiming descent from the Gothic kings of Spain. The use of a donkey to satirize the aristocracy was used on several of the Los caprichos prints.
It is one of only two prints in Los caprichos that was made purely by aquatint, without the use of etching.
Preparatory drawings
Goya produced three preparatory drawings for And so was his grandfather, two in pencil and Indian ink and the other in gouache. The ink drawing is titled The Literary Ass. Neither of the drawings contain any discernible image on the book itself, suggesting the satire on genealogical pretension as opposed to pretension in general was unique to the print.
Notes
- "Hasta su abuelo". Goya en la Prado. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- "Los Caprichos". Goya en el Prado. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- "Peintres espagnols. Francisco Goya y Lucientes". Le Magasin Pittoresque: 324–25. 1834.