How does The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters elucidate its Goya and satire?
Goya's print has sometimes been interpreted in the context of satire.  During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century in Spain, Goya's paintings and etchings combined artistic innovation with social criticism to create visually-satirical works. Goya created numerous portraits of Spanish royalty that were quite realistic, and completed these portraits with jarring social commentary that marked a departure from the practice of painting royal figures with sensational opulence and splendor.Los Caprichos, Goya's set of 80 aquatints that were published in the year 1799, revealed and emphasized the innumerable flaws that human beings inherently possess. The series of works as a whole deals with the uniquely-human vices of "...vanity, greed, superstition, promiscuity and delusion". Particularly, 'The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters' exhibits (quite literally) the treacherous lengths of human irrationality, and the implications of excessive illogicality without the counterbalance of reason. The remainder of the aquatints featured in Los Caprichos incorporated contentious subjects including marriage, prostitution, the law, and the Church; some of these works featured specific and targeted political satire, implying Goya's dismay at the developments of Spanish political life. Goya supplemented these works with caustic and sardonic captions, augmenting the overall satirical effect.
satire aquatint