They Spin Finely, Plate 44 (1799): Art, History and Details

They Spin Finely, Plate 44 (1799) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Francisco de Goya (Spanish, 1746–1828).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Francisco de Goya creatively engaged with printmaking, producing bold and innovative compositions. This impression is a rare trial proof printed in sepia ink before publication of the series Los Caprichos, whose title translates as “caprices” or “artistic fantasies.” As one of the earliest sheets printed from the plate, it retains Goya’s subtle layers of tonal aquatint absent in later impressions. Note, for example, the slight shift in tone between the pale skin and white blouse of the woman in the foreground whose spinning, a common euphemism for sex work, is likely the subject of the artist’s elaborate critique.

Object facts

• Title: They Spin Finely, Plate 44
• Date: 1799
• Creator attribution: Francisco de Goya (Spanish, 1746–1828)
• Culture: Spain
• Type: Print
• Technique: Etching, aquatint, drypoint, and engraving printed in sepia
• Dimensions: Image: 19.1 x 13 cm (7 1/2 x 5 1/8 in.); Platemark: 21.8 x 15.3 cm (8 9/16 x 6 in.); Sheet: 30.2 x 19.5 cm (11 7/8 x 7 11/16 in.)
• Collection: PR - Etching
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 2014.15

A detail from the museum

Francisco de Goya gave each of the prints in Los Caprichos, including this one, intentionally cryptic titles.

Collection credit

Sundry Purchase Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Glaubinger, Jane. “Acquisition Highlights 2014: Prints.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 55, no. 2 (March/April 2015): 24.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.