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FRANCISCO JOSE de GOYA y LUCIENTES
Fuendetodos 1746 - 1828 Bordeaux
Ni así la distínque
He still cannot make her out
Caprichos, Plate 7
Etching, aquatint and drypoint
200 x 150 mm.; 77/8x5 7/8 in.
Prado text explantion:
Como ha de distinguirla? Para conocer lo que ella es no basta el anteojo se necisita juicio y práctica del mundo y esto es precisamente lo que falta al pobre caballero.
How can he make her out? In order to know what she is, a monocle would not be enough. There would be needed both worldly judgement and practical experience. This is precisely what this poor gentleman lacks.
Notes:
This print plays on the difference between "to see" and "to perceive". Obviously, looking at the young lady's stance and her knowing smile, the young man, in spite of (or because of) his magnifying-glass, does not perceive her true nature. A broader interpretation of this work could consider it an attack on a generally perceived shortsightedness of the privileged classes of the time. The Biblioteca Nacional text is much more to the point:
"Lecherous men close their eyes so much that not even with a magnifying glass can they distinguish that the lady whom they are pursuing is a prostitute" ("Se ciegan tanto los hombres luxuriosos, que ni con tente distinguen que la señora que obsequian, es una ramera").