Margaret Goya Los Caprichios Analysis

Goya is well known for his thought provoking and perhaps disturbing paintings, especially “Los Caprichios”. While the primary purpose of these 80 something etchings was to depict the abuses of the Catholic Church, societal ills, and superstition, however they also demonstrate a very interesting perspective on the psychology of sleep and dreams, particularly in relation to monsters. This collection presented the condemnation of follies and foolishness is a rather informal, almost free form way, a marker of its status as a precursor to the modernist movement that would ensue nearly a century later. Two incredibly interesting examples from this collection are “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters” and “Dream of Lies and Fickleness”. Their creation …show more content…
This etching, along with other prints from the collection, show the influence that the Enlightenment movement had not only on Goya’s ideas but also on other members of Spanish society. “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters” shows how, “monstrosity operates as a pictorial sign for the absence of mental activity and, thus, functions as a central element in Goya’s semiotics of satire” (Schulz, 24). Goys shows true monsters in this print, yet it is unclear just how real they truly …show more content…
His nightmarish visions portrayed through etchings show an incredibly disturbing truth hiding behind the mask of normalcy in reality. While Goya covers quite a bit of ground in his collection of 80 satirical plates, two prime examples of his message pertaining to sleep and dreams are “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters” and “Dream of Lies and Fickleness.” The two prints are incredibly important since they both portray what scholars have theorized to be images of Goya himself in the prints. In both cases he appears either sleeping or in a dream-like state, indicating that his horrific vision was one of reality reinterpreted by his mind, like many of the other prints in the collection “Los Caprichios.” The earlier of the two, “Dream of Lies and Fickleness,” shows Goya ensnared by the debauchery of deceitful women. Goya portrays women of all ages and classes in this collection, however most often in a negative light for example in this print both women have a second face (or hidden face) that looks upon and holds the hand of the trickster in the background who indicates to the audience that they shouldn’t speak of what is going on behind Goya’s back. These deformed human figures can be linked to the animalistic monsters found in “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters” since they, yet again, attack Goya as he sleeps and then are mirrored in his dreams. Through these prints, it is