DISCOVERART

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes

The Custody is as Barbarous as the Crime ("The Little Prisoner")

1810/20
Etching and burin on cream laid paper
9.9 × 7.4 cm (3.9 × 2.9 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

The Custody Is as Barbarous as the Crime , one of only three irregular plates produced for the Disasters of War series, was not printed and bound into the volume like the other working proofs but was added at the end. The etching features a prisoner crouching with his wrists and ankles restrained. Line in addition to aquatint creates the exceedingly dark atmosphere. Goya pays special attention to the prisoner’s contorted posture, the tangled mess of his hair, and the reflection of dim light on the chains binding his arms.

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