'The Sleep Of Reason Produces Monsters' in Goya's 'Los Caprichos'

Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Art - History of Art, grade: 1,7, University of Essex (Art History), course: Art, Sex & Death in the 18th Century, language: English, abstract: The Spanish painter and graphic artist Francisco José de Goya (1746-1828) is undeniably one of the most important artists at the turn of 18th to 19th century. His works set new standards for the whole succeeding European art world and still fascinate the art audience today. In his time at the Spanish court from 1786 Goya produced various portraits of noble commissioners. However, in his series of aquatint etchings, the so-called Los Caprichos (¿caprices¿), he shows archetypes which can be related to the whole society. But those figures as well as the depicted situations are only ¿normal¿ on the first sight. With his satiric motives Goya scratches the surface of man and shows his hidden vices.

The focus of this essay is on the most important of the Caprichos, plate 43, and its programmatic statement ¿The Sleep Of Reason Produces Monsters¿. The essay is going to discuss the way in which the statement is illustrated in the cycle, its structure and within single images.