Francisco de Goya y Lucientes - Los Caprichos - Plate 50

Los Chinchillas
Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (1746–1828), Los Caprichos, Plate 50
Etching, aquatint, drypoint, and burin
Posthumous Calcografía Nacional edition, Madrid, c. 1878–1900

Goya comments, "He who hears nothing, knows nothing, and does nothing belongs to the numerous family of the Chinchillas, which has always been good for nothing." Contemporary references identify the Chinchilas as nobles: "Those idiots who pride themselves on their nobility, let themselves go to laziness and superstitionn. They close off their understanding with padlocks while they are grossly fed by ignorance." This plate  depicts the nobility as victims of their own pride living like madmen in their own prisons of ignorance, clearly unfit to play any role in the nation.  (reference Miguel Orozco 2021)

Historical Context
Los Chinchillas belongs to Goya’s 1799 series Los Caprichos, his Enlightenment-era critique of superstition, greed, and moral decay. Printed here from the original copper plate by the Calcografía Nacional around 1900, this impression preserves the bold linework and haunting tonal contrasts that made Caprichos a turning point in the history of satire.

Collector’s Note

• Edition: Late 19th-century Calcografía Nacional restrike from Goya’s original plate.

• Paper: Wove ivory stock without watermark.

• Rarity: Later impressions from this edition remain desirable for their authentic connection to Goya’s plates and their strong visual impact.
  

Interpretation
A chilling allegory of complacency, Los Chinchillas transcends its period. Goya’s commentary on the burden of ignorance could easily describe today’s willful blindness to inequality and manipulation of power. His figures stumble beneath invisible weight—much as modern societies still struggle under the pressures of misinformation and greed.