Volaverunt

A young woman with wings on her head, holding her mantilla with her arms folded, is flying across the sky. She is dressed like a maja, wearing a black ruffled skirt and a white bodice that emphasises her narrow waist. She stands above a group of three difficult-to-identify figures who gather their skirts with their hands below their knees; they may be three bullfighters dressed in chaquetillas or alamares.

The Ayala manuscript and the manuscript in the Biblioteca Nacional state that this engraving depicts the Duchess of Alba with three bullfighters holding her up. The manuscript in the Prado Museum notes the following: "The group of witches that serves as a pedestal for the petimetra is more of an ornament than a necessity. There are heads so full of inflammable gas that they need neither balloons nor witches to fly".

As in other prints in the series, this engraving could be interpreted in several ways. On the one hand, it could be a criticism of the fickle nature of women and the superficiality with which they approach romantic relationships. It could even be interpreted as a satirical view of witchcraft, although it could also be an allusion to the Duchess of Alba and her affairs with some of the bullfighters she protected.

It has also been suggested that this picture was born in Goya's mind out of spite because the Duchess had abandoned him. If so, Goya would be using the Latin term volaverunt (they flew) to refer to the end of their relationship and depicts the Duchess with bat-like wings - those that form her arms when she spreads her mantilla - an animal that symbolises lightness.