Goya's Prison: - Red Square Design

Goya’s reference to a “yard of lunatics” refers to the last painting in
the series, now in Dallas, which warrants comparison with Interior of
a Prison. These paintings of a madhouse and a prison in the cabinet
series are important in two vital respects. They demonstrate the
interest Goya had in penal reform, which he shared with friends like
Meléndez Valdés, but also suggest Goya’s emotional and mental state
as he sought to come to terms with the illness that had brought him
down so violently and permanently. Looking at both pictures, one
cannot help but speculate as to their symbolism to Goya himself. The
naked, brawling inmates in Yard with Lunatics, themselves surrounded
by chaotic scenes with prisoners in various states of undress, could
easily refer to the months spent in Cadiz with Martinez, where Goya
stricken by constant dizziness and noises in his head, must have
feared for his sanity.
Interior of a Prison seems to suggest another fear for a man
who had experienced Goya’s trauma – the fear of utter, desolate
isolation. If one were to search for a work in Western art to
convey the word ‘hopelessness’ then it would be hard to find one
better than Interior of a Prison.
Take a moment to absorb the stillness of the scene, which is
oppressive, each prisoner consumed by his own thoughts. The
archway, which offers a glimmer of light, reveals the thickness of
the walls; barriers that act as a metaphor for each of their resigned
despair – they can scream as loudly as they want, but their cries will
never be heard.
Goya has heightened the sense of claustrophobic suffocation by
emphasising the chains and leg and hand irons worn by the prisoners.
The man lying in the foreground is both attached to the wall by a chain
around his neck and to a wooden bench by rings around his legs. In
this position he is physically unable to move, a method of punishment
used in Madrid’s prisons at the time. As one studies the picture, the
eye is constantly drawn to the many shackles and chains worn by
the prisoners, all cleverly emphasised by Goya, who has used white
highlights to enhance our awareness of their restriction.
It is as if both Interior of a Prison and Yard with Lunatics represent the
impact of Goya’s stone deafness upon his senses. The insane rantings
of those in the madhouse are symbolic of the noises and voices Goya
could hear for a time inside his head, while the unbearable silence
suggested within the thick walls of the prison indicate Goya’s realisation
of his new relationship with the outside world. Like the shackled men
slumped within the prison walls, he now shares their confinement.
16 Don Juan Antonio Meléndez Valdés
Francisco de Goya
1797
Oil on canvas 73 x 57cm
The Bowes Museum
9
Goya’s Prison – the Year of Despair