Of lies and inconstancy (14th dream)

Preparatory drawing for an unedited plate of The Caprices of which only a single proof is preserved, stamped on the back of another etching in the National Library.

Mena describes this as one of the most theatrical of the etchings, with the interplay of the characters, the portrait of Goya himself (on the left of the scene), and the direct communication with the viewer through the painter's lackey who demands silence with his gesture (on the right of the drawing), indicating to the viewer not to reveal the deception.

The artist depicts himself from the front and with perfectly defined features, and is the only figure in the composition with a laughing expression; in the etching he chose to stand in profile, changing his expression there for a passionate, pleading one. He only repeated this self-representation in the series of The Caprices in Dream of Reason Produces Monsters.

According to Manuela Mena, it has also been related to Caprice 61, Volaverunt and its preparatory drawing, as they share the female figure with butterfly wings, as well as the character who requests silence, which is replaced in Volaverunt by a witch in the centre of the composition.

Specialists do not agree on the identification of the characters in this preparatory drawing and its print: some think that the main characters (left side of the scene) are the Duchess of Alba and Goya (Lefort, 1862; Nordström, 1962; Gassier, 1975; Wilson-Bareu, 1992), while others see Godoy and Queen Maria Luisa (Glendinning, 1976; Vega, 1996).

The drawing shows the imprint of the foil print, left by the pressure of the press during the intaglio process on the 218 x 152 mm copperplate.