'Poor Folly' from the 'Disparates' (Follies / Irrationalities)
A two-headed woman runs into a building, possibly a church, her breasts bare and arms outstretched. She stands at the threshold, turning one head to look at two men behind her, one of whom seems to scream, his hair blown by the wind. A figure with two faces was a popular motif in Spain in the years following the Peninsular Wars; here, it could refer to the country facing both the tumultuous recent past and an uncertain, dismal future. That the country ought to look backward and forward at the same time would also be the implication of the proverb traditionally associated with this print, "Two heads are better than one."
From the posthumous first edition published by the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid in 1864 under the title 'Los Proverbios'.
From the posthumous first edition published by the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid in 1864 under the title 'Los Proverbios'.
Artwork Details
- Title: 'Poor Folly' from the 'Disparates' (Follies / Irrationalities)
- Artist: Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) (Spanish, Fuendetodos 1746–1828 Bordeaux)
- Date: ca. 1815–19 (published 1864)
- Medium: Etching, burnished aquatint, drypoint
- Dimensions: Plate: 9 5/8 x 13 7/8 in. (24.5 x 35.3 cm)
Sheet: 13 1/16 × 18 1/2 in. (33.2 × 47 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Henry J. Bernheim, 1936
- Object Number: 36.20(11)
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) (Spanish, Fuendetodos 1746–1828 Bordeaux)
1799, posthumous impression
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) (Spanish, Fuendetodos 1746–1828 Bordeaux)
ca. 1815–19 (published 1864)
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) (Spanish, Fuendetodos 1746–1828 Bordeaux)
ca. 1815–19 (published 1864)
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) (Spanish, Fuendetodos 1746–1828 Bordeaux)
ca. 1815–19 (published 1864)
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) (Spanish, Fuendetodos 1746–1828 Bordeaux)
ca. 1815–19 (published 1864)
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