Tu Que no Puedes (Thou Who Canst Not) by Francisco Goya (Interpretation and Analysis)

-
Tu Que no Puedes by Francisco Goya
Tu Que no Puedes
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Today, I want to return to the subject of Francisco Goya’s Caprichos series. Goya published Los Caprichos in 1799, a series of etchings that depict the social ills of contemporary Spanish culture.

This print from the series, entitled Tu Que no Puedes (Thou who canst not) presents a criticism of idle, useless aristocrats. The print depicts two donkeys being carried on the shoulders of two men; the satirical implication here is that the donkeys, who, in the natural order of things, should be carrying the men, are so useless that the men have to carry them. The men, dressed in rags, represent the everyday, ordinary people of Spain, who must support the lazy, extravagant aristocracy.

According to historian Richard Herr, Enlightened Spanish thinking was centered around an “ideal landscape” in which “idle aristocrats...were out of place, and poverty-stricken laborers would disappear.” Goya espouses these ideals in many of his Caprichos. In the visual world of his prints, there is no room for a lazy nobleman who serves no practical purpose in society; to Goya, the idea that “the useful classes of society bear all the weight, or the true asses on their backs” (as is described in The Ayala Commentary of Goya’s Caprichos) is completely ridiculous. Instead, the hereditary nobility, like the donkeys in this print, should do what they are supposed to, support others. As Herr notes, in the case of the nobility this “entail[s] service to society and compassion for inferiors.” The print calls upon the aristocracy to take up their true place in the enlightened world.

According to art historian Eleanor Sayre, this print is a play on an idiom of Goya’s time: “crazy is the one who goes on foot for the convenience of his horse,” implying that the working classes of Spain have no reason to economically and socially support the hereditary privileges of those who oppress them. Goya seeks to harness the ludicrousness of the image of a man carrying a donkey to convey the insupportable position of the nobility.

Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Le Chat Aux Poissons Rouges by Henri Matisse (Interpretation and Analysis)

-
Image
Le Chat Aux Poissons Rouges Source: Pinterest French artist Henri Matisse is rather famous for his paintings of goldfish. In fact, one of his most famous paintings, entitled Goldfish , depicts several of the aforementioned fish swimming in a bowl. Matisse is one of the most famous artists of the twentieth century. His work is closely associated with the Fauvist movement and is generally characterized by great energy and rich, intense colors. Based on my research , Matisse began painting goldfish after he traveled to North Africa. In Morocco, Matisse observed locals watching goldfish swim in their bowls as they sunk into a meditative state. The fish subsequently became a symbol for this sense of tranquility, coming to represent an idyllic version of the world only accessible through joyous day-dreams. These calming fish are prominent in this painting, which is entitled Le Chat Aux Poissons Rouges (which translates to The Cat With Red Fishes ). However, the serene energy of the f...
Read more

Mural La Plena by Rafael Tufiño (Interpretation and Analysis)

-
Image
Mural la Plena Source: Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico Today I want to chat about a monumental piece of art that I recently had the pleasure of seeing at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. As the name suggests, Mural La Plena is a massive mural, fifteen by thirty feet in size, that was created by Puerto Rican artist Rafael Tufiño to commemorate la plena, a wildly popular genre of music that was born in the city of Ponce around 1900. The mural, which might appear abstract or incomprehensible to a viewer unfamiliar with the subject matter, illustrates the lyrics of popular plena songs. For example, the blue-green figure that dominates the upper half of the mural represents the hurricane from the plena “Temporal,” which mourns the destruction caused by a storm. Plena, as a genre, tells stories. According to my research , the lyrics come from current events, re-telling the stories that affected the lives of the people of Ponce. It began as a way for people of low socio-economic sta...
Read more

Five Puerto Rican Artists You Should Know

-
Image
The island of Puerto Rico has a long and vibrant artistic tradition. Western, Indigenous, and African cultures have all left their mark on Puerto Rican art, creating a colorful and unique visual legacy. While Puerto Rican artists have demonstrated their excellence throughout the years— from the creators of the captivating Taino petroglyphs to the sophisticated and subtle works of the Modernist painters—Puerto Rican art has received little attention from art historians and the wider art world. Here are five underappreciated Puerto Rican artists that you should know: 1. José Campeche José Campeche is often known as the first Puerto Rican painter in the Western history of fine arts. He was primarily known for his religious paintings and his portraits of elite Puerto Ricans, and today his work is recognized as some of the finest examples of Rococo art produced in the Americas. Campeche’s personal story is also inspiring. The son of a slave who had purchased his own freedom, Campech...
Read more