Witches' Sabbath (The Great He-Goat) powdered glass, orpiment and iron oxides. He likely worked with mixed materials. Technical analysis indicates that most of the Black Paintings begun with preparatory drawings. "Witches' Sabbath" is the exception; the final composition seems to have been painted directly onto the wall. Art historian Fred Licht notes that Goya's brushwork appears "clumsy, ponderous, and rough" and lacking finish compared to his earlier work. Licht believes this was a deliberate ploy to physically convey dismay at human inadequacy and his own feelings of personal doubt. Unique in the series, "Witches' Sabbath" was not significantly altered by Goya after his initial work.
Witches' Sabbath Inquistors' manual of witch-hunting, the "Malleus Maleficarum" (1486). Nevertheless, it was during the Renaissance when Sabbath folklore was most popular, more books on them were published, and more people lost their lives when accused of participating. "Commentarius de Maleficiis" (1622), by Peter Binsfeld, cites accusation of participation in Sabbaths as a proof of guiltiness in an accusation for the practice of witchcraft. Bristol University's Ronald Hutton has encapsulated the witches' sabbath as an essentially modern construction, saying: The book "Compendium Maleficarum" (1608) by Francesco Maria Guazzo illustrates a typical witch-phobic view of gathering of witches as "the attendants riding flying