The Dream (El sueño)

The painting is a three-quarter-length portrait of a beautiful woman as she sleeps peacefully. Such a subject is unusual in the work of Goya, who more often represents dynamic, action-packed scenes. The image inspires a somewhat unsettling sense of calm. The viewer is made into a voyeur or a peeping-tom, spying on the sensual young lady as she rests, covered only by the almost sheer gauze dress that envelops her. The greyish colour palette is applied in thin brushstrokes for the flesh tones and in other, much more thickly laden ones, for certain details, such as the ribbons in her hair and the sashes that encircle her waist. The whitish, milky lighting, reminiscent of moonlight, falls upon her bosom, concentrating the viewer's attention there and giving the impression that we might almost see her breathing.

The woman has not been identified as anyone in particular. Her face is not strongly lit and is half turned towards the back of the darkened room. It is possible that Goya did not wish to go into too much detail in order to avoid being criticized for a lack of decorum. However, the name of Pepita Tudó has been mentioned in relation to this work due to the resemblance between this depiction and those in the famous clothed and nude maja paintings and, above all, because of the possible connection to the secret collection of Godoy, whose romance with Pepita was well known.

Chronologically, a number of different dates have been put forward, given the different hypotheses concerning the commissioning of the painting. The first hypothesis would date it to 1790-1792, coinciding with a possible commission by Sebastián Martínez. The second would place it to between 1801 and 1808, the years in which the maja paintings were executed and the paintings to decorate the residence of Godoy when he again became prime minister were commissioned.