Heavier than a Dead Donkey, plate 1 from Los Proverbios

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

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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