Plate 45 from "Los Caprichos": There is Plenty to Suck (Mucho hay que chupar)
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) Spanish
Not on view
The figures in this print have been identified as witches or furies, although the caption suggests that they are vampires. Two take snuff from a box; the third figure and two large bats peer from the background. In the foreground is a basket full of dead babies. This plate is one of several in which Goya’s depiction of witches, goblins, and other such creatures alludes to superstitions and fallacies embraced by the uneducated—a susceptibility derided by intellectuals of the time. The use of snuff in Goya’s depiction indicates that his vampires have just eaten, because it was often taken after meals to aid digestion.
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