University students no longer need to sleep to explore the dark depths of the subconscious realm.
The University Student Union Art Gallery is featuring the “Francisco Goya: Los Caprichos” exhibit now through May 15.
The free exhibit, which opened March 20, is open to the public and includes an entire collection of 80 first-edition etchings. The “Los Caprichos” collection is one of four complete sets printed by Goya in 1799, according to Judi Stahl, Student Union Art Gallery director.
“It’s very exciting to have such a high caliber of art in our gallery,” said Ellen John, assistant director for marketing at the Union.
The exhibition was booked more than three years ago by the Union Art Advisory Committee, Stahl said. The committee, comprised of volunteer University staff and students, paid for the roughly $40,000 endeavor partially through funding from student activity fees, Stahl said.
Landau Traveling Exhibitions organized the exhibit, which will continue to tour colleges and museums throughout the country before returning to its permanent home at the Prado Museum in 2013.
“This is a unique opportunity for students to see such culturally important prints in the first edition,” Stahl said.
The “Los Caprichos” prints mark a turning point in Goya’s career, according to Mark Zucker, art history alumni professor. Visionary concepts, including exploration into the subconscious realm, distinguish “Los Caprichos” from other works of the time period. Goya was one of the first artists to look at the unconscious world, Zucker said.
Included in the exhibition is one of Goya’s more noted pieces, “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters,” which exemplifies the theme of the subconscious depicting various zoomorphic representations of the mind and depicts an owl and bat descending upon a sleeping man.
  See more photos from the Goya exhibit
 
The prints represent a stark departure from the rich Rococo style of Goya’s earlier work. In addition, the body of work that followed “Los Caprichos” exhibits a grittier, more grotesque and modern style, Zucker said.
“If you took a survey of all European artists working at the beginning of the 19th century with a lasting impact on art, Goya would be at the top of the list,” Zucker said.
There is a consensus among art historians, including Zucker, that Goya was a precursor to the surrealist style of renowned artists Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso.
“It’s major — one of the best exhibits they’ve ever had in terms of world class significance,” Zucker said of the exhibit.
A number of informative educational programs have been scheduled to accompany the “Los Caprichos” exhibit.
Janis Tomlinson, the director of Arts in the Academy at the National Academy of Sciences and an authority on Francisco Goya, will make several appearances on campus today.
Tomlinson will hold a dialogue with Paul Hoffman, a history professor who teaches a course in Spanish history, at 12:30 p.m. and hold a lecture on “Goya in the Twilight of Enlightenment,” at 5 p.m.
Many people are excited about the exhibit, according to Colin Ash, marketing senior and Union Gallery worker.
“People are questioning whether the prints were actually made by Goya back in 1799,” Bash said. ”They are pleasantly surprised to learn of the exhibit’s legitimacy.”
Nolde Alexius, English instructor, was excited to view the exhibit after first seeing paintings by Goya four years ago.
“I like the focus Goya gives and the descriptive manuscripts which accompany the prints,” Alexius said.
According to Bash and Zucker, “Los Caprichos” is an intriguing exhibit that will likely snowball in popularity as word of mouth spreads.
“The prints are realistic and bizarre. These two characteristics combine for a potential to appeal to the typical college student,” Zucker said.
 
—-
Contact Josh Naquin at [email protected]