The Goya Painting That Nobody Truly Understands

Three witches glide through the night sky while holding the limp body of a man. We do not know if he is alive, if they have just abducted him or if they are about to do something even worse. Everything is frozen in mid-air, as if time had stopped right before a macabre ritual begins. Below them, a man moves forward, shielding himself with a white cloth, terrified by what he is witnessing. Beside him, another man collapses to the ground, paralyzed, unable to look up, as if averting his gaze were the only way to survive. And on one side, almost swallowed by the darkness, a donkey watches the scene. And this is where you start wondering what all of this means and why Goya would paint something so strange. He created this piece years before his famous black paintings, long before Saturn devouring his sun, long before the dog. You could say this was the first time Goya dared to step into the darkness and explore witchcraft, superstition and that sinister side of human nature that would later define so much of his work. Very few people know this painting exists, it is not displayed in the black paintings gallery and documentaries rarely mention it, but I would argue it is just as disturbing and perhaps even more so than many of Goya's works you may have already seen. The story of this painting begins in the late 18th century, when Goya received a rather unusual commission from the Dukes of Osuna. They were an enlightened, noble couple with intellectual interests far ahead of their time. It is known that they were defenders of rational thought, yet they were also deeply drawn to the supernatural. They were fascinated by esoteric themes, popular superstitions and that strange blend of reason and magic that was still very present in Spanish society. To decorate their country house, an estate on the outskirts of Madrid called El Capricho, they asked Goya to paint a series of works about witchcraft. And he, who had always been able to look into the darkness with a sharp eye, created six canvases that today we could consider his first true nightmares. Six small works in size but immense in symbolism as we will see later. This series has everything. Sabbaths led by demonic goats, women in trances conjuring spells, men levitating in the midst of possession, enchanted kitchens and even a sinister reinterpretation of the legend of Don Juan. It was essentially a complete catalogue of fear and superstition, but seen through a critical and even sarcastic lens. Some of these paintings are now in the Lázaro Galdiano Foundation in Madrid, others in museums abroad, and unfortunately a couple have been lost over time, but among them is Witch's Flight, which fortunately is preserved in the Prado. What is curious is that although it shares that same dark atmosphere, it is not displayed alongside the black paintings. It is in another room, far less visited, but it belongs to that same artistic line. It reveals a Goya who was already beginning to explore the monstrous, not through fantasy, but as a metaphor for fanaticism, collective fear and the ignorance that surrounded him. The first thing that grabs your attention in this painting is not what is happening in the sky, but what is happening below, on solid ground, because that is where Goya begins to build the scene, almost as if he were preparing the stage so the supernatural can make sense. At the very bottom, on a dark path, there is a donkey. A calm donkey, nothing mysterious about it, but Goya did not paint it there as mere filler. In Goya's visual universe, the donkey is a clear symbol of the ignorance that plagued Spain at the time. It represents that stubborn blindness that prefers to remain still without understanding anything while the unbelievable happens right in front of it. Near the donkey, we see two men, or rather two peasants, trapped between fear and superstition. One lies face down, covering his ears tightly, as if the simple act of not hearing could protect him from what is unfolding, while the other bends forward, covering his head with a blanket and making a very curious gesture with his hands. He stretches out both arms and forms a gesture called the Higa by closing his fist and placing the thumb between the index and middle fingers. It is a gesture that dates back centuries and in that era was considered a kind of superstitious protection against the unknown. And now we have to lift our gaze, and that is where the real chaos appears. In the air, floating, there are three human figures, half naked, surrounding a naked man who seems suspended between them. Their posture suggests he is being carried or restrained, caught in a state that could be anything from unconsciousness to death. Everything is deliberately ambiguous. The three figures wear cone-shaped mitres decorated with small serpents, very similar to the ones the Inquisition used to mark heretics. In other words, these witches or sorcerers, because Goya leaves that undefinable, are not only tied to the supernatural but also to a clear critique of religious authority. But what exactly are they doing? Here we find several theories. Some say they are sucking his blood or devouring him as part of a ritual sacrifice. Others think they are blowing on him, infusing him with something malignant since all of them have puffed cheeks as if they were exhaling. There are even those who believe they are possessing him and turning him into one of them. Goya offers no answers, and that makes it even more unsettling. I am curious to know how you interpret this moment, so feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. The light in the painting also plays a crucial role. A strong lateral illumination highlights the floating group as if an invisible lantern were shining directly on them in the darkness. Everything else is swallowed by shadow. It is as if the horror were frozen in that instant, hovering above ignorance. And here comes one of the most surprising parts of the entire painting, and that is its inspiration. Even though this work looks like a scene pulled from a nightmare, Goya did not invent it from scratch. An art historian discovered a fascinating clue, showing that this composition is directly related to a 1716 theatrical comedy called El Domine Lucas, a popular play at the time that dealt with superstition, fake possessions and characters who fell victim to their own beliefs. But before I tell you about that, let me remind you that if you would like to have a reproduction of this artwork in your collection, you can get it on our website. From the QR code you are seeing on screen, you can go directly to our catalogue and discover more than 800 historical artworks so you can choose your favourite and start your own art collection. The video you are watching right now is an example of how you can decorate with our reproductions and turn your home into your own personal museum. Shipping is free worldwide, I will also leave the link in the description. Now then, let's continue. El Domine Lucas is an 18th century Spanish comedy written by José de Cañizares in 1716. Today it is almost forgotten, but in its time it was very popular. What makes it especially interesting is its plot, because it mixes superstition, deception, fake possessions and characters who allow themselves to be manipulated by fear. In other words, it creates exactly the kind of psychological atmosphere we see in Witch's Flight. In the comedy, one of the main characters, Lucas, becomes the victim of a trick and believes he is possessed by supernatural forces. He is convinced that witches and demons are chasing him, and he goes through a series of delirious episodes in which his ignorance and fear turn him into a figure of ridicule. There are scenes where he is lifted, manipulated, confused, all with the satirical tone typical of the theatre of that era. And this is where the connection becomes clear. The scene of a man suspended in the air surrounded by witches exists in the play, not exactly in the way Goya paints it, but as a dramatic concept. The text describes a man who believes he is being taken or carried through the air by evil forces, while other characters watch in terror or mockery. What Goya does is to take that theatrical moment originally designed to provoke laughter and social critique and turn it into something much darker, and that is not the only piece of evidence linking Goya to El Domine Lucas. Years later, when he published Los Caprichos, he reused scenes from this same play. In Capriccio No. 50, known as Los Chinchillas, there are sleeping figures whose mouths are filled with stones by grotesque creatures, an image taken directly from a visual joke in the comedy. This tells us something essential. Goya was an expert at transforming fear and giving it visual form. He extracted elements from theatre, from popular literature, from whispered stories and shaped them into highly symbolic images. In this painting, the theatrical influence is unmistakable. The frontal composition, the exaggerated gestures, the dramatic lighting, all of it feels like a stage scene, but painted through Goya's unique vision. For me, Witch's Flight is, without exaggeration, his most underrated painting. The more I look at it, the stranger it seems that it goes so unnoticed. If you think about it, it could easily hang right beside Saturn devouring his sun. It belongs to the same nightmare world. A human being reduced to a victim, a scene frozen at the exact moment of horror and around it, a chilling atmosphere. The difference is that this painting came many years earlier. That is why I like to think this video is, in part, an excuse to give it the attention it never had, so that the next time you visit the Prado, you do not only look for Saturn, but also seek out paintings like this one, which may not be as famous, but are worth seeing in person. Thank you for watching until the very end of this video. I want to invite you to subscribe to our newsletter. It is completely free and every week you will receive two art stories directly in your email. 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