Nobody knows each other

On the right-hand side of the engraving we see a woman in profile wearing a mask over her face; she is smiling with a gesture of pleasure. In front of her, slightly reclining and standing at the level of her face, a figure also wearing a mask looks at her attentively. Behind her are other figures dressed in peculiar costumes; some of them are wearing large hats, and in the case of the one at the lower left and the one in the centre, their faces also appear to be covered by masks; his face is wearing a mask and he is smiling in a pleasant manner. In front of her, slightly reclining and standing at the level of her face, a figure also wearing a mask looks at her attentively. Behind her are other figures dressed in peculiar ways; some of them are wearing large hats, and in the case of the one at the lower left and the one in the centre, their faces also appear to be covered by masks.

It is a dark environment in which Goya uses aquatint to capture the young woman's clothing, the lightest part of the engraving. Much of the background is executed with very continuous, close etching strokes.

In Ayala's manuscript it is said of this work that "the world is a mask; the face, the costume and the voice are all feigned. An effeminate General presents madame with a gift in front of other cuckolds". The Prado Museum manuscript states that "the world is a mask, the face, the costume and the voice are all faked; everyone wants to pretend to be something they are not, everyone is deceived and no one knows each other". Finally, the manuscript in the National Library notes that "an effeminate general or disguised as a woman at a party is asking a good girl for it; he lets himself be known by the embroidery on his sleeve; the husbands are behind, and instead of hats, they appear with tremendous horns like a unicorn. If he covers himself well, he comes out straight; if he doesn't, he comes out crooked".

The most powerful aspect of this image is the ambiguity that does not allow us to discern whether the figure in the foreground, who is gazing at the woman, is a man or not. This vagueness is accentuated by the use of the masks which, contrary to what one might think, do not conceal the identity of the wearer, but reveal his true nature. This is precisely what Goya does in the Caprice no. 2, Yes they pronounce and the hand they lengthen, in which the woman wears a mask on the back of her head that describes some aspects of her character.

Carnival and masked balls are present in many of Goya's works; it is a festival that had an important tradition in Madrid at the end of the 18th century. It was a common practice among some of the most important aristocratic figures, such as the Duchess of Alba, who held costume parties famous for their sumptuousness. The importance of this type of festivities was such that even the masks were made by some of the most famous artists of the time.

This print is strongly influenced by Venetian painting, especially the Capricci by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Venice, 1696-Madrid, 1770) in which some of the characters seem to have been taken from the Commedia dell'Arte, as is also the case in the Goyaesque engraving.