Even his grandfather

In the centre of the composition is a donkey in costume, looking at the viewer. On a lectern in front of him is a book with rows of donkeys, as if it were his family tree. Beneath the book is a coat of arms with a donkey in the field. In the background, between the book and the donkey, the silhouette of an owl can be seen.

In this engraving Goya used only aquatint without resorting to etching. This demonstrates his considerable skill in the use of this technique, with which he creates the outline of the animal, the background and the details that can be seen in the print.

The manuscripts on The Caprices agree that it is a donkey trying to demonstrate its noble origins. In this way Goya was criticising the widespread practice among the aristocracy during the 18th century of seeking the origins of their noble titles. This activity was, in many cases, the most important occupation they had, as they often had no work at all.

One of the sources of inspiration for this print could be the work by Primo F. Martínez de Ballesteros (Logroño, 1745-Saint Esprit, 1830)Memoirs of the Insigne Asnal Academy in which he openly mocked the Spanish Royal Academy and the people who were strongly attached to the past who were at the forefront of the country's culture at the time. It is also possible that Goya was also familiar with The learned donkey. Original fable, a posthumous work by an anonymous poet published in 1782 by Juan Pablo Forner (Mérida, 1756-Madrid, 1797) and one of José Cadalso's Cartas Marruecas (1789). In it the following was said: "Hereditary nobility is vanity, which I base on the fact that eight hundred years before my birth one died who was called as I am called, and was a man of profit, although I am useless for everything".

Ayala's manuscript notes in brackets that this image could be a clear reference to Manuel Godoy (Badajoz, 1767-Paris, 1851), possibly because the Extremaduran had his family tree drawn up in search of noble ancestors. In the end he obtained a debatable descent from Gothic kings and, through his marriage to María Teresa de Borbón, ended up being related to the royal family itself.

Both the donkey and the owl, present in this engraving, appear frequently in many of Goya's works and form part of his personal iconography. The donkey in the so-called "asnerías", i.e. the prints of donkeys from 38 to 42 in the series of The Caprices, refer to ignorance. The owl that alludes to foolishness could have been taken from the emblem Fatuitas by Andrea Alciato (Alzano, Milan, 1492 - Pavia, 1550) in which this concept is symbolised precisely by this animal.