Ensayos. 1796 - 1797

Francisco Goya produced this etching, one of eighty collected under the title Los Caprichos, as a commentary on late 18th-century Spanish society. In "Ensayos," the figures and their bestial companion evoke a scene of ritualistic madness, but who exactly is on trial? The artist, working within an increasingly absolutist monarchy, may here be attempting a critique of political or religious institutions. One figure appears to be having his brains scooped out; is this a comment on the state of intellectual life? Do the cats represent the Church, or are they symbols of the occult? Without further documentation, such as that found in letters, diaries, or the records of the Inquisition, interpretation must remain provisional. The historian of art seeks to reconstruct the conditions of cultural production in order to speculate on the possible meanings of works like this.