A Way of Flying

Los Disparates (The Follies), also known as Proverbios (Proverbs) or Sueños (Dreams) is a series of prints in aquatint and etching, with retouching in drypoint and burin, created by Spanish painter and printmaker Francisco Goya between 1815 and 1823. Goya created the series while he lived in his house near Manzanares (Quinta Del Sordo) on the walls of which he painted the famous Black Paintings. When he left for France and moved to Bordeaux in 1824, he left these works in Madrid apparently incomplete.

During Goya's lifetime, the series was not published because of the oppressive political climate and of the Inquisition. 18 of the Disparates series were first published by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in 1864 under the title Proverbios (Proverbs). In this edition, the titles given to the works are of Spanish proverbs. On proofs of 13 of the plates there are titles handwritten by Goya, which include the word Disparate (Folly).

In total, the series is an enigmatic album of 22 prints (the last 4 works were first published in Paris in 1877). They were created toward the end of Goya’s life and are the last major series of prints by him. The scenes of the Disparates, which are difficult to explain, include dark, dream-like scenes that scholars have related to political issues, traditional proverbs and the Spanish carnival.