El sueno de la Razon produce

Goya, Francisco

214702 Goya, Francisco El sueno de la Razon produce (The sleep of reason produces monsters) Plate 43 c. 1799 H. 78, D. 80 8 5/8'' x 6'' Etching and aquatint on very fine, thin, smooth, wove paper. Plate 43 from "Los Caprichos" (The Caprices). From the eighth edition after bevelled plate and steel facing. Printed in sepia and black inks. Edition size limited to 180. Impressions were made in the Calcografia for the Real Academia between 1905 and 1907. According to Harris "this edition is distinguishable by the paper". Los Caprichos, collection of eighty prints, took Francisco Goya from a reproductive etcher and court painter to the father of modern art. Goya began sketching Los Caprichos shortly after an illness that began in 1792 and that left him deaf five years later. His physical weakness brought on a burst of artistic creativity, ''to occupy an imagination mortified by the contemplation of my suffering.'' This resulted in eighty prints critiquing the social culture of Spain in the eighteenth century. Goya was lucky to be protected by King Carlos IV because without this protection he would have faced the wrath of the nobility and the Church, which was busily carrying out the Inquisition. Goya was the first and greatest satirist, calling attention to all seven of the deadly sins and how they each were alive and active in Spain. He drew donkeys acting like counts and kings, and showed that men were no better than the goblins that they so feared. Goya produced a metaphorical mirror through his art for Spain to look in, and eighteenth century Spain did not always like what she saw. Shortly after Los Caprichos was published, a commentary on the prints was produced and sent to neighboring villages of Madrid. This commentary allowed those who did not have access to the prints themselves to gain an understanding of the controversy surrounding Goya's work. Today, art historians have compiled surviving pieces of the commentary into what is now referred to as the "Prado manuscript". The Prado manuscript offers insight as to Goya's thoughts when creating Los Caprichos. From the Prado manuscript, the commentary describes Plate 43 as "Imagination abandoned by reason produces impossible monsters: united with her, she is the mother of the arts and the source of their wonders." Los Caprichos was first published in 1799. Approximately 300 sets were printed of which 30 sets were given to Goya. Los Caprichos has the distinction of being the only edition to be printed during Goya's lifetime. A preparatory drawing in pen and sepia ink is in the Prado, No. 470. A drawing in pen and ink showing the platemark, with considerable variations and numerous MS. legends in pencil is in the Prado, No. 34. The copper plate is in the Calcografia.

Reg. No.

214702

Size

8 5/8" x 6"

Medium

ETCHING

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