I found Los Caprichos to be a very interesting read (perhaps “view” would be the better word). The images were crude but detailed, intense but confusing, evoking a myriad of emotions. The themes of violence against women and the restrictions of marriage particularly interested me, even though I found it frustrating that Goya portrayed the women deciding to marry as foolish.
One element of Los Caprichos that intrigued me is the captions. I understand Spanish, so I was able to read them in both the original language as well as the translated version. However, what I don’t understand is how people were able to grasp what each picture meant with just the few word captions and not the added paragraph with more explanation. One of the pictures’ captions is just “They are hot.” The added paragraph going with it adds that the men in the picture have eaten very hot food. I don’t think I would’ve been able to understand what’s transpiring in the picture without the paragraph, so I wonder how people reading Los Caprichos without that understood it. Perhaps Los Caprichos is better viewed when the images speak for themselves, but I’m just not sure I would grasp it without the added explanations.
I think you’ve made a great point about the accompanying paragraphs in Los Caprichos. Honestly, looking at most of these prints has left me dumbstruck, and it isn’t until I read the paragraph that I truly understand what is going on. This is very similar to the predicament I personally faced with illuminations. Many of the illuminations told a story or provided commentary that I did not pick up on until someone else pointed it out. Indeed, I think I will need a bit more social and historical context before I can truly understand what is meant on my own. That being said, I think there is value to trying to find meaning in the prints without the paragraphs. My physics professor always says that if you don’t struggle with the problem on the way to the right answer, and simply get the answer from a friend, you are missing out on valuable learning. While there are certainly many differences between the prints in Los Caprichos and my physics problem set due next week, I think that what my professor said also rings true for the prints. Having the paragraph next to the print is like providing the answer at the end of each question. We may be able to see how to get the right answer after we know what it is, but if we don’t struggle through the process ourselves we are missing out on something. Hence, I see the value in looking at a print for a while with a critical eye, though it will take some time before I can pick up on Goya’s commentary on my own.