Existing comment:
Francisco de Goya,
Ya van desplumados (There They Go Plucked), 1797/1798
Like many of the prints from Los Caprichos (caprices), this image relies in part on a pun: the Spanish word desplumar, "to pluck," has the same connotations that "to fleece" has in English. These prostitutes have finished fleecing their customers and are shooing them out of the way in anticipation of new clients. Their baldness, a further play on desplumar, may also mean they are suffering from syphilis, which was associated with hair loss. |