Nadie nos ha visto. 1796 - 1797

Editor: This etching, “Nadie nos ha visto," or “Nobody has seen us” by Francisco Goya, made between 1796 and 1797, strikes me as…unsettling. There’s a strange shadowy figure looming behind the clearly inebriated characters. What do you make of it? Curator: Ah, Goya! A master of the darkly whimsical. To me, it’s a slice of life, perhaps a critique, wrapped in Romantic sensibility. Look at the title, "Nobody has seen us." Who is the "us"? Are these figures, seemingly monks, indulging in forbidden pleasures under the cloak of anonymity? The shadow...is it a devil? Or the darkness each man carries within? I wonder if the shadow makes their unseen behavior...more visible? Editor: That's an interesting point! The shadow almost feels like a manifestation of their guilt or hidden desires. I hadn’t thought about it that way. So you're saying it could be less literal and more of a commentary on human nature? Curator: Precisely! Goya loved playing with those ambiguities. Is he showing us a depraved scene, or are we projecting our own interpretations onto it? He makes you complicit, doesn't he? Almost daring you to judge. Also, note how expertly he uses the etching technique here: a series of very loose networks of fine lines make this composition really pop! What about you – where did the shadow first lead your eyes? Editor: Definitely to the figure's face in the upper register of the composition! I like that idea of being complicit in the interpretation...and maybe being party to something you shouldn't. Curator: Yes, Goya creates a conspiratorial relationship with the viewer; you are *involved*. What’s truly remarkable is that Goya does all of this, all of this complicated thinking, with a printed piece on paper! That is magic! Editor: I'll never look at Goya the same way again.