A woman attacking a sleeping man; page 87 from the "Images of Spain" Album (F)
Here, a woman raises an ax to behead a supine peasant, who is perhaps resting from work in the fields. We cannot determine the reason for the attack, but the blankly determined face of the aggressor—who roughly evokes Death carrying a scythe—might signal retribution. The drawing manifests Goya’s unique ability to suggest sequence by indirectly condensing time. While omitting the culminating moment of the blade’s impact, he alludes to it: the logs parallel to the man’s body evoke the act of chopping, and the cloud of dust raised by the woman’s abrupt movement conjures the effect of blood spurting.
Artwork Details
- Title: A woman attacking a sleeping man; page 87 from the "Images of Spain" Album (F)
- Series/Portfolio: Images of Spain Album
- Artist: Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) (Spanish, Fuendetodos 1746–1828 Bordeaux)
- Date: ca. 1812–20
- Medium: Brush, brown ink washes, traces of black chalk
- Dimensions: Sheet: 8-1/16 x 5-5/8 in. (20.5 x 14.3cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1935
- Object Number: 35.103.46
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
1799, posthumous impression
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
ca. 1815–19 (published 1864)
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
ca. 1815–19 (published 1864)
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
ca. 1815–19 (published 1864)
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
ca. 1815–19 (published 1864)
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