“Atropos (The Fates)” is an oil on plaster transferred to canvas artwork by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya, created between 1820 and 1823. This piece is part of the renowned Black Paintings series, which consists of fourteen works that were painted directly onto the walls of Goya’s house. The artwork is housed in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain. Measuring 123 cm by 266 cm, it falls within the Romanticism movement and belongs to the mythological painting genre. The dark, haunting tableau depicts figures from Greek mythology, known as the Fates or Moirai, who controlled the destinies of humans.
The artwork showcases a haunting scene set against a dark, subdued landscape. Three central figures, which represent the sisters Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, are depicted handling the threads of life. Associated with doom and mortality, their presence is a testament to Goya’s preoccupation with the tragic and the supernatural. The sister responsible for cutting the thread, Atropos, appears in the background, heavily obscured by shadow, reflecting the weighty and ominous nature of her role. The overall composition, characterized by dramatic contrasts of light and shadow, and the grotesque rendering of the mythological subjects, exemplifies the Romantic penchant for emotional depth and the explorations of the darker facets of the human psyche. In its essence, the artwork eloquently conveys the bleak and despairing tone that typifies Goya’s later works, especially those of the Black Paintings series.
