Letter: A new slant on Goya

WHILE I read with great interest Tim Hilton's review of the Goya exhibition ('Something wicked this way comes', Review, 20 March), I was horrified that the reproduction of the Flying Witches was printed back to front.

This may seem a trivial matter, but it is not. It makes nonsense of the picture. We have inherited from Greek drama the significance of the direction in which a figure (person, character) moves, whether to left or right. Characters usually enter left and exit right. The figure in Goya's paintings is heading left, towards us, not right. It makes a difference whether the figure is simply fleeing in panic or seeking protection and comfort.

Cyril Barrett

Oxford