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Fool’s Folly, from Disparates

A work made of etching and burnished aquatint in black on japanese paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of etching and burnished aquatint in black on japanese paper.

Date:

1816–19, published 1877

Artist:

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746–1828)
printed by François Liénard (French, active 1860s–1880s)

About this artwork

In this ludicrous vision, bulls tumble effortlessly in the air, completely unfazed by the fact that they are bobbing like balloons. This print is from an enigmatic series that Goya began in his late 70s but never finished before moving to France. Titled Disparates, which roughly translates to nonsense, absurdity, or fantasy, the series would have included at least 25 images, but only 22 plates are known to exist. Fool’s Folly is one of four plates that were separated from the 18 printed posthumously by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. It was not printed until almost 50 years after Goya’s death.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes

Title

Fool’s Folly, from Disparates

Place

Spain (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1816–1819

Medium

Etching and burnished aquatint in black on Japanese paper

Dimensions

Image: 21.2 × 32.4 cm (8 3/8 × 12 13/16 in.); Plate: 24.5 × 34.5 cm (9 11/16 × 13 5/8 in.); Sheet: 28.3 × 37.5 cm (11 3/16 × 14 13/16 in.)

Credit Line

Charles Deering Print Sale Fund

Reference Number

1938.174

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/27159/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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