Lauren Woods

HTA101B Modern To Contemporary

Raffaele Bedaria

Fall 2015

Visual Analysis of Goya’s Witches Sabbath: The Great He-Goat

Goyas’s Witches Sabbath or The Great He-Goat is an incredibly profound work created

between 1820 and 1823. The painting, done in oils, was originally one of the murals that

adorned La Quinta Del Sordo (the house of the deaf man) where Goya lived and worked at the

end of his career. It is known as one of the fourteen “black paintings” that Goya did nearing

the end of his life, and at the climax of his imaginative and creative genius. They were all

originally painted directly on the walls of his home, but were later removed and attached to

canvases. These paintings all portrayed very surreal and deeply emotional, sometimes

hysterical imagery - contrasting Goya’s more formal commissioned portraiture and figural

work. In the Witches Sabbath specifically, Goya seems to allude to self-destruction and

disturbing depictions of death while also ridiculing the irrationality of certain superstitions.

This painting, among the others in this series provide an interesting insight into Goya’s views

in relation to the supernatural forces that shape man’s existence.

The Great He-Goat was painted toward the end of Goya’s life, at a time when both his

fame and his mental state were declining. He was haunted by old age and his recent deaf-ness,

placing him in an ideal position to examine man’s emotional temperament through a

combination of pathos and pessimism. The painting depicts (presumably) Satan in the form of

a large goat (also referred to as Baphomet) surrounded by people sitting in a sort of circular

formation. Baphomet’s mouth is open to the characters, who appear frightened and

submissive. The “crowd” seems to be predominantly women of varying ages but whom all

share similar facial expressions. They appear to be drawn together by some natural impulse

that is ritual in nature. The figures are crouched, bordering on animal-like, in turn evoking a

horror and terror of primordial instinct. The piece seems to call attention to the mysteries

surrounding superstition and witchcraft during that period in history. Goya shows a profound

inventiveness in subject matter in the He-Goat as well as his other “black paintings”, wherein

he explores an imaginative and somewhat surrealistic conception of the physical embodiment

of the dark forces of both man and nature. (Gudiol)

There is a relative absence of formal setting or even the suggestion of a space where

the sabbath is taking place, something that is uncharacteristic of paintings from this time

period. Goya uses deep-tone shadows to create the illusion of a physical grounding for the

event, but there is no other indication or context of the location in this painting. This sort of

absence of space only adds to the overall sinister tone of the work, as the viewer has trouble

placing the figures in any sort of physical context. Somewhat of a testament to moral

disorientation emerges within this, and touches back on the theme of Goya’s condemnation of

submission to superstitions. He is essentially commenting on the negative effects that such

superstitious practices have on the world. Some scholars believe that the gathered crowd is a

group of poor people, intended to reflect the lower classes’ dissatisfaction with the current

social structure and therefore their new openness toward sorcery and the supernatural (The

Goat in). Following this train of thought, the figures may also be an allegory for the spanish

people being led astray by the temptations of evil (Gudiol). Goya is essentially criticizing

either the adverse effects of religious establishment during that time (standing in the way of

progressive enlightenment) or the corrupt secular ruling that was driving the country’s politics

into the ground. A more modern view of the work might suggest that Baphomet’s symbolism

acts as a satire of the masses, wherein he is preaching corrupt ideologies to the people. Beyond

interpretation, however, there theories have little to no concrete backing. Goya was incredibly

withdrawn and secretive wen creating his black paintings, as he left them untitled and painted

on the walls of his home, only to be removed and re-interpreted later, outside the scope of his

own personal enjoyment. This specific work was initially called El Gran Cabron (The Great

He-Goat) but was later referred to as El Aquelarre, which is “devilry”. Some were very

specific in their naming of the piece, interpreting it as a sabbath reunion or El Sabath.

Opposing and varied interpretations of the piece seemed to yield opposing and varied titles.

(The Goat in)

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Dwelling on the technique and process employed by Goya in The Great He-Goat as

well as other “black” Quinta Del Sordo paintings yields insight into Goya’s own internal

struggles. The painting (like all the other black paintings) was founded on a black background,

which Goya left exposed in certain areas of finished works for added drama and intense

chiaroscuro. Goya used broad, thick strokes to build up the paint and add physical depth that

compliments his dramatized interpretation of light. He essentially superimposes areas of color

that create the subjects of the image through contrast. Coupled with violent, almost clumsy

brush strokes (something less prominent in Goya’s earlier works) he is able to enhance the

figurative “darkness” of the work, adding a real sense of character to the forms and figures. He

seems to exaggerate the more ridiculous side of the figures, especially their faces, which

possess somewhat surreal and unrealistic features. This grotesque realism is enhanced through

the inclusion of incredibly white eyes on the majority of the people, creating an even more

uncomfortable experience for the viewer. Goya’s restricted color palette flows with the themes

of evil and dark forces. He uses very cool tones and sombre colors, like muted yellow, red

ochres, and blue ochres to maintain the quality of a dimly lit, somewhat undefined space. It is

within this maintenance of thematic elements that Goya finds success in expressing his views

on the supernatural.

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Works Cited

"Francisco De Goya | Spanish Artist." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica,

n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2015. <http://www.britannica.com/biography/Francisco-de-Goya>.

Gudiol, Jose. GOYA 1746-1828: Biography, Analytical Study, and Catalogue of His Paintings.

N.p.: n.p., 1971. Print.

"MOST POPULAR PAINTINGS." Witches' Sabbath, 1798 by Francisco Goya. N.p., n.d. Web.

01 Oct. 2015. <http://www.franciscogoya.com/witches-sabbath.jsp>.

THE GOAT IN GOYA'S "WITCHES' SABBATHS"

Avigdor W. G. Posèq

Vol. 18, No. 4 (Summer 1999) , pp. 30-39

Published by: Ars Brevis Foundation, Inc.

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23206811

"Visit the Museum." Museo Nacional Del Prado: On-line Gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2015.

<https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/online-gallery/on-line-gallery/obra/

aquelarre-or-the-witches-sabbath/>.

"Witches' Sabbath (The Great He-Goat)." Witches' Sabbath (The Great He-Goat). Gutenberg,

n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2015. <http://self.gutenberg.org/articles/

witches'_sabbath_(the_great_he-goat)>.

"Witches Sabbath." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2015.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witches%27_Sabbath_(The_Great_He-

Goat)>.

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