One of Goya's 80 Caprichos - "The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters". Photo by wikipedia.org
An exhibit of the "Caprichos" by Spanish painted Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746 -1828) is opening in Sofia Wednesday.
The exhibition is hosted by the Cervantes Institute in Sofia, and will be open until May 18. It includes the first graphic cycle of Goya - his "Caprichos" ("caprices"), which were created in the 1790s.
Caprichos is a set of 80 aquatint prints condemning the Spanish ruling class and the Spanish society in his time.
Goya himself described his Caprichos as depicting "the innumerable foibles and follies to be found in any civilized society, and from the common prejudices and deceitful practices which custom, ignorance, or self-interest have made usual".
According to the curator of the exhibit, Albena Spasova, an art critic, Goya's works are especially relevant for today as they depict the rich ruling class doing whatever they like because laws had been made only for the poor. Goya's Caprichos also include corrupt bureaucrats, pimps, and informers.
Goya was a royal painter for three Spanish monarchs. His Caprichos got him into trouble with the Inquisition, and he was saved only with a formal order of Spain's King Carlos IV.