Que viene el coco (Here Comes the Bogey-Man)

Que viene el coco (Here Comes the Bogey-Man) is a seminal print created by Francisco Goya in 1799, capturing the period's anxieties and challenging the societal norms of the late 18th century. This work exemplifies Goya’s profound capacity for social commentary, utilizing the demanding medium of etching and burnished aquatint on laid paper. The technical classification as a print confirms its creation during the transitional Spanish period of 1776 to 1800, when the artist shifted his focus from court portraits to darker, satirical critiques.

Goya expertly employed the aquatint technique to achieve rich, dramatic tonal shifts, using deep shadows to emphasize the psychological tension inherent in the scene. The subject centers on a deeply ingrained cultural fear: the use of the bogey-man (el coco) to enforce obedience in children. A frantic mother clutches a terrified child, looking off-frame toward an unseen threat. The work is less a depiction of a literal monster and more a commentary on the propagation of superstition and fear, illustrating how parental ignorance perpetuates irrationality, a theme central to many of the artist’s graphic works from this era.

The innovative application of the aquatint medium allowed Goya to redefine graphic arts, moving the print form away from simple documentation toward expressive commentary that profoundly influenced subsequent generations of European artists. The print’s striking visual rhetoric and pointed critique solidified Goya’s reputation as one of the great printmakers of his time. This significant work, representative of the Spanish Enlightenment’s conflicted approach to modernity, is housed in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. As a historically significant work created before 1928, prints of this masterwork are widely considered part of the public domain.