''Witches' Flight'' (, also known as ''Witches in Flight'' or ''Witches in the Air'') is an oil-on-canvas painting completed in 1798 by the Spanish painter
Francisco Goya
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish Romanticism, romantic painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Hi ...
. It was part of a series of six paintings related to
witchcraft
Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...
acquired by the
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
and
Duchess of Osuna in 1798.
It has been described as "the most beautiful and powerful of Goya's Osuna witch paintings."
[
]
The painting was sold to the Duke and Duchess of Osuna on 27 June 1798, to decorate their villa
La Alameda
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
*La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
*"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...
, on the outskirts of Madrid. It was then sold in 1896 at the public auction of the Osuna estate to Ramón Ibarra, and again in 1985 to
Jaime Ortiz Patiño. Finally, it was acquired by the
Prado
The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century, based on ...
in 1999, where it remains to this day.
[
]
At center point are three semi-nude witches wearing penitential ''
coroza''
bearing aloft a writhing nude figure, their mouths close to their victim, as if to
devour him or
suck his blood.
Below, two figures in peasants' garb recoil from the spectacle: one has thrown himself to the ground covering his ears, the other attempts to escape by covering himself with a blanket, making the
''fig'' hand gesture to
ward off the
evil eye
The evil eye is a supernatural belief in a curse brought about by a malevolent glaring, glare, usually inspired by envy. Amulets to Apotropaic, protect against it have been found dating to around 5,000 years ago.
It is found in many cultures i ...
. Finally, a donkey emerges on the right, seemingly oblivious to the rest of the scene.
The general scholarly consensus is that the painting represents a rationalist critique of superstition and ignorance, particularly in religious matters: the witches' ''
corozas'' are not only emblematic of the violence of the
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition () was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile and lasted until 1834. It began toward the end of ...
(the upward flames indicate that they have been condemned as unrepentant heretics and will be burned at the stake),
[
]
but are also reminiscent of episcopal
mitre
The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of ...
s, bearing the characteristic double points. The accusations of religious tribunals are thus reflected back on themselves, whose actions are implicitly equated with superstition and ritualized sacrifice.
[
]
The bystanders can then be understood either as appalled but unable to do anything or willfully ignorant and unwilling to intervene.
The donkey, finally, is the traditional symbol of ignorance.
See also
*
List of works by Francisco Goya
Francisco Goya, Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746–1828) was a Spanish artist, now viewed as one of the leaders of the artistic movement Romanticism. He produced around 700 paintings, 280 prints, and several thousand drawings. Goya's ea ...
Footnotes
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Witches' Flight
Witches in art
Paintings by Francisco Goya in the Museo del Prado
Donkeys in art
Nude paintings of women
Oil on canvas paintings
1798 paintings