Francisco de Goya

Ridiculous folly

Clasificación
Ridiculous folly
Datos Generales
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
-
Historia

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.

Análisis artístico

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 They suggest coldness in their withdrawn attitude.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.

Exposiciones
  • Goya
    Musée Jacquemart-André
    París
    1961
    consultant editor Jean-Gabriel Domergue. From December 1961 to February 1962
  • Etchings by Francosco Goya
    Johannesburgo
    Johannesburgo
    1974
  • Boston
    1974
  •  Grabados de Goya: colección propiedad de la Biblioteca Nacional, que se conserva en su Gabinete de
    Casa de la Amistad de Moscú
    Moscow
    1979
    exhibition displayed from January 18th to 31st 1979
  • Goya. Das Zeitalter der Revolucionen. Kunst um 1800 (1980 – 1981)
    Hamburger Kunsthalle
    Hamburg
    1980
  • Goya y el espíritu de la Ilustración
    Museo Nacional del Prado
    Madrid
    1988
    from 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
  • Francisco Goya. Sein leben im spiegel der graphik. Fuendetodos 1746-1828 Bordeaux. 1746-1996
    Galerie Kornfeld
    Bern
    1996
    from November 21st 1996 to January 1997
  • Goya. 250 Aniversario
    Museo Nacional del Prado
    Madrid
    1996
    consultant editor Juan J. Luna. From March 29th to June 2nd 1996
  • Goya grabador
    Museo del Grabado Español Contemporáneo
    Marbella
    1996
    from March 8th to May 5th 1996
  • Zaragoza
    1996
  • London
    1997
  • 1999
  • 1999
  • Madrid
    1999
  • Schlaf der Vernunft. Original radierungen von Francisco de Goya
    Munich
    2000
  • Bilbao
    2012
  • Goya et la modernité
    Pinacothèque de Paris
    París
    2013
    from October 11st 2013 to March 16th 2014
  • London
    2015
  • Madrid
    2017
  • 2022
Bibliografía
  • HARRIS, Tomás
    OxfordBruno Cassirer
    1964
    pp. 376-377, cat. 250
  • GASSIER, Pierre y WILSON, Juliet
    Vie et ouvre de Francisco de Goya
    ParísOffice du livre
    1970
    p. 325, cat. 1575
  • SANTIAGO, Elena M. (coordinadora)
    Catálogo de las estampas de Goya en la Biblioteca Nacional
    MadridMinisterio de Educación y Cultura, Biblioteca Nacional
    1996
    p. 236, cat. 377
  • CARRETE, Juan, MATILLA, José Manuel, AULLÓN DE HARO, Pedro, BOZAL, Valeriano, GLENDINNING, Nigel, VEGA, Jesusa y BLAS, Javier
    MadridReal Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando y Calcografía Nacional
    1996
    pp. 105 y 109, cat. 3 y 23
  • OROPESA, Marisa and RINCÓN GARCÍA, Wilfredo
    ParísPinacoteca de París
    2013
    p. 270
  • WILSON-BAREAU, Juliet y BUCK, Stephanie (eds.)
    LondonThe Courtauld Gallery
    2015
    p. 147
  • WILSON BAREAU, Juliet
    Goya. In the Norton Simon Museum
    PasadenaNorton Simon Museum
    2016
    pp. 204-211
  • CALVO RUATA, José Ignacio, BORRÁS GUALIS, Gonzalo M. and MARTÍNEZ HERRANZ, Amparo
    ZaragozaGobierno de Aragón y Fundación Bancaria Ibercaja
    2017
    p. 221
  • TORAL OROPESA, María and MARTÍN MEDINA, Víctor
    Museo de Bellas Artes de Badajoz y Diputación de Badajoz
    2022
    p. 92
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