Paintings for the alameda of the Dukes of Osuna

[1] The whole group of works is closely related to the tapestry cartoons —especially in the colors used and in the lighting panorama—, whose fifth series Goya completed shortly before tackling this project.

Although they also adorned the country house of the dukes, critics have coincided in naming this series as "the dream of reason" due to the witchcraft themes it presents.

The Countess of Benavente and Duchess of Osuna, María Josefa Pimentel and her husband, Duke Pedro de Alcántara Téllez-Girón y Pacheco, were one of the most cultured and active couples in Madrid's enlightened circles.

[1] Upon contacting the painter, the dukes were impressed by the ease with which he made the cartoons and, after establishing a close friendship, their now patrons asked him to make a series of paintings to decorate their villa.

[4] The dukes commissioned Goya to paint canvases with themes similar to those that the Aragonese artist had treated in the cartoons he delivered to the Royal Tapestry Factory of Santa Barbara.

Concern for the lower classes is one of the main characteristics of pre-Romanticism, whose ideals Goya had assimilated through contact with enlightened artists such as Jovellanos.

The chromatic range is harmonious and pleasant, although Goya, according to Glendinning, believes that scenes of country leisure should be left for the residences located on the outskirts of large cities.

[7] By depicting workers of low social status in his paintings, Goya emphasizes their vices, perhaps implying that they are the cause of their inferior position in modern society.

[9] The English critic recognizes in The Snowstorm and The Injured Mason —as well as his sketch, the aforementioned The Drunk Mason— undertaken at that time, the most direct precedents of these canvases.