-
Social Sharing
El sueño de la razon produce monstruos (The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters), Plate 43 from the series Los Caprichos (Caprices)
Artwork Viewer
Not on view
The print series Los Caprichos, self-published in 1799, was a departure from those subjects that simultaneously occupied Goya as painter in the royal court of King Charles IV of Spain. The Sleep of Reason is the best known image among the eighty in the series. It shows various animals including bats and owls flying above the sleeping artist as a lynx (a symbol of vigilance) observes with pricked-up ears. Originally intended to be the title page of the published edition, the print became plate 43, the number etched at the top right corner. Nevertheless, it has come to symbolize the overall meaning of the series, and is generally understood as the artist's criticism of the society in which he lived; that is, when reason is absent, evil forces arise to create turmoil and conflict.
- Artist
- Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes
- Title
- El sueño de la razon produce monstruos (The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters), Plate 43 from the series Los Caprichos (Caprices)
- Date
- 1799
- Object Type
- Medium
- Etching and aquatint
- Dimensions
- Plate Mark: 8 7/16 x 6 in. (21.5 x 15.2 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Mrs. Philip N. Lilienthal, Jr.
- Accession Number
- 1971.36.43