GOYA Y LUCIENTES, Francisco de
(b. 1746, Fuendetodos, d. 1828, Bordeaux)

Rise and Fall

1797-98
Etching and aquatint, 210 x 150 mm
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This is Plate 56 from the series Los Caprichos.

The grandly dressed person raised aloft by a satyr in this plate is surely Godoy. Elevated over the globe by a symbol of lust, his phallic sword dangles at his side; two falling figures indicate that such successes are transitory and always come at the expense of others.