Created between 1797 and 1799 for the Diario de Madrid, it is the 39th of the 80 aquatints making up the satirical Los caprichos.

In particular, some[3] have suggested that the print is aimed at the infamous politician Manuel Godoy, the prince of peace, who justified his rapid climb through the Spanish establishment by claiming descent from the Gothic kings of Spain.

The use of a donkey to satirize the aristocracy was used on several of the Los caprichos prints.

It is one of only two prints in Los caprichos that was made purely by aquatint, without the use of etching.

Goya produced three preparatory drawings for And so was his grandfather, two in pencil and Indian ink and the other in gouache.