As a plant produces its flower, so the psyche creates its symbols. Every dream is evidence of this process.
- C. G. Jung
The subject of dreams have been interpreted by various masters over the ages - from Blake, Bosch, Fuseli, Dali, Magritte, Redon to Goya. The development of oneiric art was really pushed forward by the Romantic movement depicting dreams and visions, focusing on individual feelings and fantasies, influenced by Romantic aesthetic concepts such as the Sublime and Picturesque.
"The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters was an artistic experiment in which painter and printmaker Francisco de Goya y Lucientes criticised universal follies shared by all humans. Goya, a master of blurring the lines between reality and dreams, which suggests that in his interpretation of oneiric world, the disturbing terror and uncanny scenes were taken from his own personal reality. The title El sueño de la razón produce monstruos represents Goya's mindset in an allegorical form, influenced by the Enlightenment and the progressive ideas coming from France, such as the critique of superstition and the advocacy of Reason.
Technique & Symbolism
The print's techniques combines etching with aquatint on ivory laid paper. A single, big male figure is depicted on the foreground, sleeping with his head resting on his folded arms, hiding his face. He leans over a desk - over which is written the title of the work. Behind the figure there are different kinds of nocturnal animals including owls, cats, lynxes and bats, most of them having realistic faces, while others show more distorted or monstrous features. The figure and the creatures form a diagonal tall triangle, with a heavier volume on the ground and a lighter texture on the top. The spatial concept is inapparent and all the depth and volume are concentrated in the figures on the foreground, the background being neutral and two-dimensional. The lines of the drawing, etched with the burin, are thin and precise, while the shades, showing different scales of grey, are achieved through the aquatint, enforcing the contrast between light and darkness.
The treatment of figure is realistic, showing a skilful treatment with the texture of the clothes and his twisted gesture, as well as showing the strong academic training of the artist. Compared to the figure, the creatures are the most eye-catching elements of this work, especially their dramatically expressive eyes. Except for the bats, the nocturnal animals are depicted with large round eyes which gives out horror, foolishness, surprise and shock, creating a mysterious and sly atmosphere - the hollow look in the eyes of the owls, the penetrating stare from the black cat that's perched behind the sleeping figure. The creatures are of different sizes, postures and tonal intensity, being distributed throughout the work to balance the volume and enhance the layers of textures, as well as the connections between the creatures and the figure. For instance, the large black on the top right corner act as an efficient functional figure to avoid too much heaviness at the bottom. The use of light is another iconic feature of Goya's artworks and usually has a symbolic implication. The light, coming from the left, focuses on the figure, leading the eye towards it, while the animals are immersed in darkness.
In Goya's graphic work - light represents good, and darkness - evil. In this print, the figure is the incarnation of Reason and has a positive connotation, whereas the nocturnal creatures are the embodiment of darkness, foolishness, superstition and vice. The subject of this work addresses the world of nightmares; expresses his rejection towards obscurantism while also following the conventional depiction of dreams, where the visions are usually generated from the back or above the head of the dreamer.
Reference:
Dreams in Art History (Xu, D.Y. 2021): Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 559
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