Artists as Activists

Artists using their talent to critique the society in which they live isn't new to the 21st or even the 20th century, for that matter. Francisco Goya and one of his many political commentaries, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, is an ideal example of artistic political expression.

Francisco Goya, The Sleep of Reason Creates Monsters. Plate 43 from the series Los Caprichos. Etching and aquatint. 1799. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Goya matured as an artist under Bourbon king Charles III who ruled Spain with Enlightenment principles. In 1786, Goya was appointed painter to Charles III and in 1789 was promoted to court painter under Charles IV. This timing was unfortunate for Goya, as the French monarchy fell the same year.

The Bourbon line of enlightened monarchs ended when Napoleon's armies invaded Spain in 1808. The brutal attack ended in mass executions of those who opposed Napoleon. Reflecting this cultural cataclysm, Goya's art took a deeply pessimistic turn for the rest of his life.

In the darkly ominous Sleep of Reason, the artist used bats and owls to symbolize the sinister forces taking hold in his day. They converge on the figure, believed to be Goya himself. A solitary lynx is alert to the danger. The idea for this topic came to me after participating in a peaceful political protest. Most of the passing cars honked in support, but a minority used a commonly-known crude hand gesture and/or aggressive insults. Like Goya, I, too, lament the change in our world today. The protest sign I carried was in support of free speech–for all points of view, even those with which I don't agree. Eventually, Los Caprichos was censored by those in power. As a visual artist, I am especially devoted to the right of artists to express themselves. I believe comedians are artists, too, and my sign proudly featured Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel. The United States was founded on Enlightenment principles. Without our democracy and free speech, a dark vision of humanity emerges. That's when artists are needed the most—we are like that solitary lynx.

Sources:

Schaefer, Dr. Sarah C. "Francisco Goya, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters," in Smarthistory, 9 August 2015, accessed 20 September 2025. https://smarthistory.org/goya-the-sleep-of-reason-produces-monsters/ Voorhies, James. “Francisco de Goya (1746–1828) and the Spanish Enlightenment.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/goya/hd_goya.htm (October 2003)