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GOYA Y LUCIENTES, Francisco de: A Lunatic behind Bars

🖼 A Lunatic behind Bars, 1824-28
Black chalk
1913 × 145 cm
Washington, USA

Shadowed confinement frames a solitary figure gripping iron bars, rendered in muted earth tones with gestural brushwork. Goya's unflinching portrayal critiques institutional cruelty and mental health treatment, pioneering psychological realism in Spanish art.

The story of art
The story of art
E. H. Gombrich
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