Modo de Volar (A Way of Flying)

This etching from Goya's Disparates (Proverbs) series depicts winged human figures suspended in darkness against a void. Two figures with bat-like membranes dominate the composition; a third reclines below. The work employs aquatint and etching techniques to create dramatic tonal contrasts between the pale, rendered flesh and the deep black ground. Rather than narrative or dialogue, Goya constructs meaning through impossible anatomies and spatial ambiguity—formal strategies that anticipate modern sequential image-making. The Disparates, created late in Goya's life, abandon the satirical specificity of his earlier Caprichos for more abstract, dreamlike inventions. These prints circulated among Spanish intellectuals and artists, establishing visual precedents for how graphic sequences could communicate beyond literal representation.