The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters
1799 · Etching and aquatint (Los Caprichos, plate 43) · Museo del Prado, Madrid
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This print
About this work
- Artist
- Francisco Goya (1746–1828)
- Year
- 1799
- Medium
- Etching and aquatint (Los Caprichos, plate 43)
- Original size
- 21.5 × 15 cm
- Collection
- Museo del Prado, Madrid (and other impressions)
- Movement
- Romanticism
A man, Goya himself, has fallen asleep over his drawing table while owls, bats and a staring lynx crowd out of the darkness behind him; the inscription on the desk gives the title, El sueño de la razón produce monstruos. It is plate 43 of Los Caprichos, the set of eighty etchings with aquatint that Goya published in Madrid in 1799 and withdrew from sale after a few days, fearing the Inquisition. He had planned it as the frontispiece, and his manuscript caption explains the thought: imagination abandoned by reason produces impossible monsters, but united with her she is the mother of the arts. The plate's mixture of self-portrait, satire and nightmare made it the emblem of the whole series and one of the most reproduced prints of the Enlightenment's end; impressions are held by the Prado and most major print rooms.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A black-and-sepia etching of a sleeper at his desk beneath a storm of owls and bats, for a study, library or home office at 24×36 in black. Pale grey, cream or dark green walls suit the ink tones; it pairs with Witches' Sabbath.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Romanticism painting
- Era
- 18th century (1799)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- study or library, home office, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; natural wood lightens it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
