Proclamation of witches

See Witches' Proclamation.

This sketch bears a close resemblance to the drawing Witches' Proclamation, which belongs to the series known as the Dreams, as both were preparatory studies for a failed Caprice. What is more, the latter, which was the initial idea, was never even recorded.

In contrast to the Witches' Proclamation, this first idea for the composition features a gigantic head lying on its back, biting the backside of a nude figure, a head that Goya removed from the final drawing. Pierre Gassier suggests that the main reason for this removal, and even for the non-inclusion of the final drawing, this is, Witches' Proclamation, among the final plates of the Caprices, was the excessively erotic nature of the idea.

In this sketch, executed in red wash with a very sketchy technique, Goya used the motif of the "child-spring" as the main element of the composition, which he retained in Witches' Proclamation took up again in Dream 7. Dream of Consummated Witches or Caprice 69. Blow.