Old Master Prints

Old Master Prints

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes

The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (El sueño de la razón produce monstruos), from Los Caprichos

Lot Closed

December 6, 03:00 PM GMT

Estimate

12,000 - 18,000 GBP

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Lot Details

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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