San José Museum of Art

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Goya’s Caprichos: Dreams of Reason and Madness

  • An etching of a profile of a man wearing a large top hat, perhaps from the Victorian era. He looks to the side, as though he is disinterested in anything surrounding him. His top has an flowing ascot.

    Francisco Goya, Franco Goya y Lucientes, Pintor, 1796-1797. Etching, aquatint, drypoint and burin, 8 1/2 x 5 15/16 inches. 

  • An etching of a person with their head down on a desk, as in distress. Flying at the person from the background into the foreground is a multitude of bats and owls. A cat the size of a large wild cat lays near the person, staring angrily at them.

    Francisco Goya, The sleep of reason produces monsters, 1796-1797. Etching and aquatint, 8 7/16 x 5 15/16 inches. 

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    Using satire and a dark imagination, Spanish painter and printmaker Francisco Goya published Los Caprichos, a series of 80 etchings in 1799. Goya was stone deaf; he relied on his keen observation to represent Spain during a period of social and economic hardship. Los Caprichos portrays goblins and aristocrats alike, enacting the excesses of the nobility and the corruption of the church.

    Goya’s Caprichos: Dreams of Reason and Madness was organized by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, in association with Denenberg Fine Arts, West Hollywood, CA.

    Download the iPod Tour for this exhibition to bring in with you at iTunes.

    YouTube Feature: Goya's Caprichos

    For the Goya's Caprichos: Dreams of Reason and Madness exhibition the San Jose Museum of Art has created 20 video segments to help supplement your visit. View now before your visit or checkout an iPod at the museum.

    Sponsors

    • Museum Store Guild
    • Yvonne and T. Michael Nevens