Plate 34 from "Los Caprichos": Sleep overcomes them (Las rinde el Sueño)
Original title: Plate 34 from "Los Caprichos": Sleep overcomes them (Las rinde el Sueño)
kurzbeschreibung
Francisco de Goya y Lucientes turns his attention to an exhausted woman seated on the ground in plate 34 of "Los Caprichos" (1799). This etching with burnished aquatint belongs to a series of 80 satirical prints aimed at the follies of Spanish society.
Description
A woman crouches on the floor, her head propped in her hands, an image of despair or sheer fatigue. Her plain, monochrome garment deepens the sombre mood. A barred window behind her casts the scene in muted light; falling from the left, it picks out her silhouette and the folds of her clothing. The layout feels asymmetrical, with the woman in the foreground and the window set back. Along the lower edge runs the title in Latin script.
Context
Goya produced "Los Caprichos" between 1797 and 1799, years of political and social upheaval in Spain. The series lashes out at superstition, corruption and human weakness. Plate 34 centres on the helplessness of sleep as it overwhelms a person. The first edition of 1799 was withdrawn from sale soon after.
Impact
An oppressive, intimate atmosphere draws the viewer into the woman's emotional exhaustion. Hard etched lines and soft aquatint areas set up a sharp contrast that reinforces the melancholy.
Technique
Etching with burnished aquatint on paper. The aquatint produces delicate grey tones, while the etched lines define contours and details. The plate measures 21.4 × 15.1 cm, the sheet 29.5 × 21 cm.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)