Saturn Devouring His Son

Talk about unsettling interior design choices. Sometime between 1820 and 1823, an artist decided his dining room needed a little something extra and painted this mural directly on the wall. Yes, in the dining room, where people eat. Looming out of a pitch-black background is a wild, haggard figure in the middle of a rather gruesome snack. With bulging eyes that scream madness more than malice, he digs his knuckles into the back of a limp, bloodied human form. The head and one arm are already gone, and he's about to take a bite out of the other. The composition is deliberately chaotic and dark, using a restricted palette to highlight the gory whites, reds, and the sheer panic in the devourer's stare. The popular title points to the Roman myth of Saturn, a titan who ate his own children to prevent a prophecy that one would overthrow him. It's a charming tale about the perils of clinging to power. However, no one is quite sure that was the painter's only intent, as the work was never meant for public viewing and he left no notes explaining it. Interpretations range from a commentary on the conflict between youth and old age, time devouring all things, or even an allegory for Spain destroying its own people through war and revolution. Whatever the "true" meaning, it remains a raw depiction of brutality, a private nightmare made real long before it was ever transferred to canvas.