- Cronología
- 1815 - 1819
- Dimensiones
- 247 x 358 mm
- Técnica y soporte
- Aguafuerte, aguatinta y punta seca
- Reconocimiento de la autoría de Goya
- Documented work
- Ficha: realización/revisión
- 21 Aug 2021 / 05 Jun 2023
- Inventario
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See Femenine folly.
In the Lazaro Galdiano Foundation in Madrid there is a state proof with the number 9 in the upper left-hand corner and 18 in the upper right-hand corner, both in manuscript, and the legend Ridiculous folly.
On a thick branch sits a large group of individuals dressed in broad robes, impassive before another figure with his back to them, who addresses them with his right hand outstretched. Below them, an immense abyss spreads out. The branch is lost in space, as no beginning or end can be seen, making it the protagonist of the scene.
The figures are mysteriously still and cold, making this picture one of the most enigmatic in The Follies series. They are absorbed, not relating to one another or listening to the speaker´s worlds. They suggest coldness in their withdrawn attitude. The clothes they are wearing accentutae this sensation, as they are wrapped in thick blankets and towels, and one of the women even has her hands inside a pair of muffled sleeves.
It is known why Goya included the word "ridiculous" in the title. it seems that he wanted to disqualify this group of self-absorbed characters, isolated and unaware of the danger that lies in wait for them, represented by the emptiness that opnes up at their feet. Some authors have seen this as a criticism of the passivity of the aristocracy, immobile in their family tree.
The dark background is achieved with aquatint, although, unlike other prints, the inking is less compact to suggest a shy twilight. Small touches of drypoint are applied to the figures, as in the hood of the one on the far left.
The preparatory drawing for the present print, also entitled Ridiculous Folly, has survived.
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GoyaMusée Jacquemart-AndréParís1961consultant editor Jean-Gabriel Domergue. From December 1961 to February 1962
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Etchings by Francosco GoyaJohannesburgoJohannesburgo1974
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Boston1974
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Grabados de Goya: colección propiedad de la Biblioteca Nacional, que se conserva en su Gabinete deCasa de la Amistad de MoscúMoscow1979exhibition displayed from January 18th to 31st 1979
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Goya. Das Zeitalter der Revolucionen. Kunst um 1800 (1980 – 1981)Hamburger KunsthalleHamburg1980cat. 245
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Goya y el espíritu de la IlustraciónMuseo Nacional del PradoMadrid1988from October 6th to December 18th 1988. Exhibited also at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, January 18th to March 26th 1989; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Nueva York, May 9th to July 16th 1989, Madrid curator Manuela B. Mena Marqués, scientific directors Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez and Eleanor A. Sayre
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Francisco Goya. Sein leben im spiegel der graphik. Fuendetodos 1746-1828 Bordeaux. 1746-1996Galerie KornfeldBern1996from November 21st 1996 to January 1997
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Goya. 250 AniversarioMuseo Nacional del PradoMadrid1996consultant editor Juan J. Luna. From March 29th to June 2nd 1996
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Goya grabadorMuseo del Grabado Español ContemporáneoMarbella1996from March 8th to May 5th 1996
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Zaragoza1996
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London1997
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1999
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1999
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Madrid1999
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Schlaf der Vernunft. Original radierungen von Francisco de GoyaMunich2000
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Bilbao2012
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Goya et la modernitéPinacothèque de ParisParís2013from October 11st 2013 to March 16th 2014cat. 203
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London2015cat. 36
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Madrid2017
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2022
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OxfordBruno Cassirer1964pp. 376-377, cat. 250
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Vie et ouvre de Francisco de GoyaParísOffice du livre1970p. 325, cat. 1575
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Catálogo de las estampas de Goya en la Biblioteca NacionalMadridMinisterio de Educación y Cultura, Biblioteca Nacional1996p. 236, cat. 377
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MadridReal Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando y Calcografía Nacional1996pp. 105 y 109, cat. 3 y 23
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ParísPinacoteca de París2013p. 270
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LondonThe Courtauld Gallery2015p. 147
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Goya. In the Norton Simon MuseumPasadenaNorton Simon Museum2016pp. 204-211
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ZaragozaGobierno de Aragón y Fundación Bancaria Ibercaja2017p. 221
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Museo de Bellas Artes de Badajoz y Diputación de Badajoz2022p. 92