Witches in the Air - Francisco Goya

A haunting depiction of supernatural figures in flight, painted by Francisco Goya for the Duke and Duchess of Osuna in the late 18th century.

Witches in the Air is one of six small paintings commissioned by the Duke and Duchess of Osuna for their country estate, La Alameda. Painted between 1797 and 1798, the work depicts a scene of dark folklore. Three figures, wearing tall, conical hats, hover in the night sky. They carry a fourth, semi-nude man, who appears to be in a state of physical distress or unconsciousness. Below them, a figure on the ground covers their head with a white cloth, seemingly in terror or an attempt to hide from the aerial spectacle. To the right, a donkey stands in the shadows, a recurring motif in Goya's work that often symbolises ignorance or folly.

The composition relies on a stark contrast between the illuminated figures and the surrounding void. Goya uses a palette of muted earth tones, punctuated by the pale skin of the figures and the white fabric of the cloaked man. The brushwork is fluid and expressive, capturing the weightless, unnatural movement of the witches. This series was intended for the Duke's dressing room, suggesting that these themes of superstition and the irrational were subjects of private contemplation for the Spanish aristocracy of the period.

Unlike his earlier, more decorative tapestry cartoons, this work reflects Goya's shift toward personal, darker subject matter. The painting avoids clear moral instruction, instead presenting a scene that feels like a fragment of a nightmare. The ambiguity of the narrative, combined with the unsettling subject, demonstrates Goya's interest in the irrational aspects of human belief. It remains a significant example of his ability to render the grotesque with technical precision, moving away from the rigid conventions of his contemporaries to explore the psychological dimensions of fear and the supernatural.