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Caprichos: The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (El sueño de la razon produce monstruos)
1799
Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746-1828)
Not on View

Originally intended as the frontispiece for Goya's famous series of etchings, "Los Caprichos," this image is celebrated as one of the most important visual statements of the Age of Enlightenment, or Age of Reason. In this print, Goya appears as the artist asleep in the chair. Owls, bats, and lynxes swarm around him, suggesting the irrational world of dreams. Goya explained: "When abandoned by Reason, Imagination produces impossible monsters: united with her, she is the mother of the arts and the origin of their wonders." Goya viewed Spain as a country divorced from reason, and he inhabited "Los Caprichos" with the monstrous creatures that result from such an action.

A color print of a man sleeping, resting his head in his arms on a desk beside him. A lynx crouches on his back, and another lynx lies on the ground, while owls and bats fly behind him. On the front of the desk, an inscription of the title
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Details

  • Artist Name: Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746-1828)
  • Title: Caprichos: The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (El sueño de la razon produce monstruos)
  • Date: 1799
  • Medium: Etching, burnished aquatint, drypoint, and burin with watercolor additions on laid paper
  • Edition: 1st edition
  • Dimensions: sheet: 11 5/16 x 8 1/16 in. (28.73 x 20.48 cm); plate: 8 7/16 x 5 7/8 in. (21.43 x 14.92 cm)
  • Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
  • Accession Number: F.1969.04.43.G
  • Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation

Object Information

(Sale, New York, Sotheby’s, 7 May 1969, lot 67, to);
[Robert M. Light, Boston, sold 20 May 1969, to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.

Francisco de Goya's 'Los Caprichos'

  • Norton Simon Museum, 1987-02-19 to 1987-07-19

Investigating Goya's Etchings: Selections from Goya's Los Caprichos

  • Norton Simon Museum, 2000-03-24 to 2000-07-31

Unflinching Vision: Goya's Rare Prints

  • Norton Simon Museum, 2013-12-06 to 2014-03-03
  • Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 627 p. 320
  • Juliet Wilson-Bareau, Goya in the Norton Simon Museum, 2016, cat. 41 pp. 100, 263
  • Helmut C. Jacobs and Nina Preyer, Los Caprichos de Goya en grabados coloreados del siglo XIX, 2023, NS-C.43 pp. 385-393, p. 387 (ill.)

Additional Artwork by Artist

Copies after Velázquez: Isabel de Borbón Francisco de Goya y Lucientes 1778-79
Copies after Velázquez: Un infante de España (Infante Don Fernando) Francisco de Goya y Lucientes c. 1778-79
Desastres de la Guerra Francisco de Goya y Lucientes c. 1810-15
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