1799
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
When Day Breaks We Will Be Off, Plate 71 is a 1799 by Francisco Goya, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a dark night sky packed with tiny stars, and three witches floating above the ground, eyes closed, arms outstretched like sleepwalkers. Goya made this print to poke at the superstitions and blind faith he saw in Spain. The witches don’t need brooms—they fly on nothing, just like people who follow ideas without thinking. He used printmaking so he could say risky things without getting in trouble like he might with a big oil painting. Look up *sfumato* to see how artists like Goya built up soft, smoky layers to make shadows feel deep and mysterious.
Francisco de Goya used printmaking to explore subjects that stirred controversy when represented in more public media, such as oil painting. This print belongs to Los Caprichos , a series of enigmatic images that critique the hypocrisy and irrationality the artist observed throughout contemporary Spanish society. Here, a group of witches prepares to fly without broomsticks or sight, suggesting ignorance and obliviousness. The dense and starry sky behind them was created using layers of aquatint—a technique that Goya was among the earliest and most expert artists to adopt.
Francisco de Goya gave each of the prints in Los Caprichos , including this one, intentionally cryptic titles.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; Spanish: ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker.
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