A man — probably Goya himself — has fallen asleep at his desk, head in his arms. Behind him the darkness fills with owls and bats, creatures of night and folly, while a lynx sits watching.

The title is written on the side of the desk: El sueño de la razón produce monstruos. In Spanish, sueño means both "sleep" and "dream", so it can be read two ways: when reason sleeps, monsters appear — or, the dreams of reason itself produce monsters.

It comes from Los Caprichos, a series of 80 prints in which Goya mocked superstition, corruption and the follies of Spanish society. The Enlightenment believed reason would banish darkness. Goya, who would live through war and terrible illness, was never quite so sure.