What a golden beak!

Preparatory drawing for the Caprice 53. What a golden beak! 

As Matilla explains, in this scene Goya satirizes the vices of the religious orders, criticising the degradation of sacred oratory in the hands of a clergy as ignorant as they were persuasive.

Few drawings agree so closely with the print in terms of composition, and differ from it in the lighting. In the drawing the scene is clear, almost without shadows; except for some half-tones in certain parts. In contrast, in the print we see one of the densest aquatint backgrounds ever used by Goya. Against this background, which is completely opaque, a parrot and a series of figures listening to it with their mouths agape are violently illuminated, as if by an artificial spotlight. The characters have been transferred practically the same as in the print, the only modification being the removal of the silhouette of the child between the legs of the figure in the foreground on the left.