'He Wakes Up Kicking'; a man on the floor kicking his legs after waking from a nightmare; page 13 from the Witches and Old Women Album (D) ca.1819-23 Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) Spanish An old man wakes, possibly from a nightmare, and struggles to kick off the bedclothes in which he is entangled. His face is distorted in pain, his brow furrowed and his mouth open. He wrests his right leg free from the sheets, revealing that he is wearing boots. The emphasis on the nicely shod foot hints that this might not be a straightforward representation of sudden awakening. At a time when apparel was a marked signifier of class identitythe press ridiculed the popular interest in the clothing of public figuresGoya may have intended the boot to betray the social status of the man depicted. The suggestion of aristocratic fury underlies a masterly depiction of an easily recognizable psychological state.. 'He Wakes Up Kicking'; a man on the floor kicking his legs after waking from a nightmar