When Day Breaks We Will Be Off (Los Caprichos, Plate 71)

The scene depicts a cluster of naked, gaunt, and grotesque figures huddled together against a dark, aquatinted background filled with small white stars. The central figure is seated on a rounded, shapeless mound, extending a long, thin arm upward to gesture toward the sky, while holding a small, infantile creature against their torso. To the left, several other wizened figures with sagging skin and sharp, angular features look toward the central figure or the stars with expressions of exhaustion and dread. The composition uses high-contrast etching to emphasize the frail, bony anatomy of the witches, who appear to be preparing to depart as dawn approaches.

This work is a satirical critique of the superstitions and social corruption prevalent in late 18th-century Spanish society, typical of Goya's 'Los Caprichos' series. It serves as an allegorical commentary on the fear of enlightenment and the retreat of 'nighttime' follies before the arrival of rational daybreak.