The meaning of the image is by no means as “claro” as Goya claims in the handwritten title of a trial proof. However, the enigmatic, theatrically staged scene is suggestive of the artist’s condemnation of the inhumane practices of the Church and his endorsement of enlightened thinking. On the left, a soldier throws himself into the abyss, apparently on the orders of the rabid monk gesticulating wildly as he delivers a rousing sermon. However, in the background, people are performing acrobatic feats to raise the “curtain” and bring some light into the darkness. (TD 2024, translation Büro LS Anderson, Berlin)
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