A Bad Night, Plate 36

The print file prints up to 8.7 x 11.3 in at 300 ppi — enough for a full 6 x 9 in front cover. Wider than a 6 x 9 cover: crop about 13% of the width, or use it as a wraparound across back and spine.

A Bad Night is from Los Caprichos (Caprices), a set of 80 prints that satirize the vices and follies of contemporary Spanish society. Goya explored the themes of superstition and sensuality, greed and violence, and immorality and deceit practiced by men and women who appear alternately as aggressors and victims. He parodied ignorance and stupidity as well as the corruption of the church and government. Goya exploited aquatint to create a dramatic contrast of light and shade through the biting and burnishing of richly textured or velvet-smooth aquatint grains.