Grotesqueness as a concept of the Enlightenment in the ‘Capricho 4’ by Francisco de Goya

The structure and content of the Capricho 4 are examined in terms of the grotesque. Based on the contextualization of the legend El de la rollona and the 19th century handwritten commentaries on the Caprichos, the article analyses the signifi cance of the amulets and background objects in the etching. Th e results lead on to a defi nition of the programme of the Enlightenment in the Capricho 4, which includes (in the tradition of the portraits of the infantes of the Golden Age) a critical comment on the aristocracy and its education and on inappropriate educational concepts in general (following the discussion on education initiated by Jean-Jacques Rousseau).