| Sleep overcomes the artist at work in this picture. His buried head throws viewers' attention to the ghoulish faces of the owls and cats that form an arc around him. The artist's nightmarish thoughts are evoked by the swirling owls that change in form into bats - the largest has a monstrous, canine head, and its spread wings place the focus on the sleeping figure. Entitled "The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters", this painting was created by Goya in 1799. Goya employed aquatint for the mottled background to provide contrast to the etched figures. This print is the 43rd in his series of 80 satirical prints of "capricious" subjects. ? The Trustees of the British Museum (2012). |
