Lopez Garcia is a legend among painters today. He is one of the Spanish Realists who rose to some prominence in the 50’s and 60’s. His works portray the urban and domestic scenes of our everyday lives, and yet, the images are surreal. The scenes are dirty, dusty, and put us viewers at ill ease. Figures seem to float, and in this work, the baby actually floats. A woman peers at the baby from behind, as the baby seems poised to enter the bedroom of the sleeping couple. Is this woman in the hallway the same as the woman in the bed? Are they being haunted by the memory of a child who died? Is this a portrayal of a nightmare? Roberto Rosenman writes: “Lopez has divided this composition into three spatial planes, each occupied by a figure… These three spatial planes take on the significance of metaphysical states when they are paralleled with the three planes of reality in the work: the real, supernatural, and the dream world.”
