The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters by Francisco Goya (Interpretation and Analysis)

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The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters by Francisco Goya
The sleep of reason produces monsters (No. 43), from Los Caprichos
Credit: Google Cultural Institute
To kick off this project, I want to talk about one of my favorite artists: Francisco Goya. A Spaniard who hailed from the northern city of Zaragoza, Goya was—in my opinion—one of the greatest painters and luminaries of his generation and probably one of the most talented and creative Spanish artists of all time.

In 1799, Goya published Los Caprichos (translating to the caprices in English), a series of etchings that depict the social ills of contemporary Spanish culture. The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters is among the most poignant in the series. This etching can be seen as a reaction to the Enlightenment, a system of thought that promoted science and evidence based study as a way to understand the world. By the standards of the Enlightenment, Goya’s Spain could be seen as rather a backwards nation, behind the curve on industrialization and plagued by war, political mismanagement, and a host of social problems. The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters aims to show that these problems are the result of outdated modes of thinking, with the sleeping man (often assumed to be Goya himself) representing enlightened reason and the monstrous creatures standing in for the consequences of unenlightened reason. Goya returns to this dichotomy throughout Los Caprichos.

The etching could also be seen as a commentary on the creative process. Under this interpretation, the print suggests that the fantastical creatures and supernatural elements that populate Goya’s work are the product of a part of his mind not governed by reason (what people in the 21st century would call the subconscious). The piece suggests that artists cannot approach their work from a completely calculated or rational perspective; true art comes from a different part of the mind.

However, based on what I know about Goya, the context of the rest of the caprichos, and the ideas of the time, I’m guessing that Goya had the first interpretation in mind when he created The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters.

Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.

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