The Bewitched Man
Francisco Goya·1798
Historical Context
Goya's The Bewitched Man from 1798, in the National Gallery London, was one of six cabinet paintings made for the country house of the Duke and Duchess of Osuna at La Alameda. These paintings of witchcraft and superstition reflect the Enlightenment skepticism that Goya shared with his liberal aristocratic patrons, who viewed popular superstition as a target for rational reform. The scene depicts a frightened man confronted by a demonic figure, illustrating a popular play by Antonio de Zamora.
Technical Analysis
Goya's technique employs a muted, atmospheric palette with eerie greenish light that creates an unsettling nocturnal atmosphere. The fluid brushwork and the expressive distortion of the figures anticipate the darker imagery of his later Black Paintings.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the eerie greenish light that Goya uses for this nocturnal supernatural scene: this cold, unnatural illumination immediately distinguishes the bewitched man's world from ordinary daylight reality.
- ◆Look at the frightened man's expression and posture: Goya renders the physical experience of terror with the full-body conviction of someone who has observed genuine fear.
- ◆Observe how the fluid brushwork and atmospheric palette create uncertainty: the figures' exact nature and the scene's spatial logic are deliberately ambiguous, creating the disorientation of a nightmare.
- ◆Find the proto-Black Paintings quality in this early cabinet work: the Osuna witchcraft paintings for La Alameda mark the beginning of Goya's sustained engagement with irrational darkness.
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