Old Master Prints
Old Master Prints
The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (El sueño de la razón produce monstruos), from Los Caprichos
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December 6, 03:00 PM GMT
Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 GBP
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Description
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes
1746 - 1828
The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (El sueño de la razón produce monstruos), from Los Caprichos
etching with burnished aquatint, drypoint and engraving on laid paper
1797-98
a good impression from the first edition, published by the artist, Madrid, 1799
plate: 212 by 151 mm. 8¼ by 5⅞ in.
sheet: 315 by 210 mm. 12½ by 8¼ in.
Delteil 80; Harris 78
Goya originally considered using this print as the introductory plate for Los Caprichos. Ultimately, he placed it in the middle of the album where it serves as an anchor for the prevailing message of the series, warning society of the dark fate of a world without reason. The sleeping artist, often interpreted as Goya's self-portrait, is surrounded by a watchful lynx and ominous bats and owls. Goya's contemporaries would have recognised these threatening figures as symbols of ignorance and evil.
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