Sleep Overcomes Them 18th-19th century

Editor: Goya's "Sleep Overcomes Them" features huddled figures in a shadowy space. The mood feels heavy, almost oppressive. What symbols or deeper meanings are at play here? Curator: The figures, overcome by sleep, are trapped—literally, perhaps, given the barred window. Sleep, traditionally a refuge, becomes another form of imprisonment. Consider how Goya often depicted dreams and altered states as spaces where reason and order dissolve. Editor: So, sleep isn't just rest, but a symbolic space of vulnerability? Curator: Precisely. Vulnerability, surrender, perhaps even a loss of control. The sleeping figures might symbolize a society lulled into complacency, blind to its own oppression. What does the darkness convey to you? Editor: It amplifies that sense of being trapped, both physically and mentally. I’ll definitely view Goya differently now. Curator: A powerful image, indeed. These darker works by Goya invite us to examine where we might find our own cages, literal or symbolic.