About this artwork
Four decades after the artist’s death, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts acquired 18 intaglio plates from an unfinished series by Goya. In an attempt to ascribe a theme to their enigmatic imagery, the prints were published with the title Los Proverbios (Proverbs). A handful of early trial proofs were later discovered on which the artist had inscribed Disparate, which roughly translates as folly, nonsense, absurdity, or fantasy.
In this print, a group of women use a blanket to toss straw or rag dolls in the air. Hidden in the blanket are a muscular figure and a donkey. Inscriptions on proof print read, “The game is played with asses,” perhaps referring to the gullibility of those who fall for female trickery.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Prints and Drawings
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Artist
- Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes
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Title
- Heavier than a Dead Donkey, plate 1 from Los Proverbios
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Place
- Spain (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- Made 1815–1817
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Medium
- Etching and aquatint, with scratches, in brown on ivory wove paper
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Dimensions
- Image: 21.5 × 32.4 cm (8 1/2 × 12 13/16 in.); Plate: 24.5 × 35.5 cm (9 11/16 × 14 in.); Sheet: 35.3 × 48.7 cm (13 15/16 × 19 3/16 in.)
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Credit Line
- The Charles Deering Collection
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Reference Number
- 1927.3304
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/44873/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.
