Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History



  • The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters: Plate 43 of The Caprices (Los Caprichos), 1799
    Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746–1828)
    Etching, aquatint, drypoint, and burin

    Image: 8 7/16 x 5 7/8 in. (21.5 x 15 cm)
    Gift of M. Knoedler & Co., 1918 (18.64)

    In the etching that might have served as the frontispiece to his suite of satires, Los Caprichos, Goya imagined himself asleep amid his drawing tools, his reason dulled by sleep and bedeviled by creatures that prowl in the dark. The artist's nightmare reflected his view of Spanish society, which he portrayed as demented, corrupt, and ripe for ridicule.

    This work of art also appears on Connections: The Master Class

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    The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters: Plate 43 of The Caprices (Los Caprichos), 1799
    Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746–1828)
    Etching, aquatint, drypoint, and burin

    Image: 8 7/16 x 5 7/8 in. (21.5 x 15 cm)
    Gift of M. Knoedler & Co., 1918 (18.64)


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