Disparate Alegre (Merry Folly)

As a young man, Francisco José Goya y Lucientes witnessed the Enlightenment’s promise of socioeconomic betterment and ecclesiastical reform, then saw it extinguished under Ferdinand VII. Goya's series of prints titled "Los Disparates" (ca. 1816–17; “Follies” in English), which were never published during Goya’s lifetime because of the uncertain political climate, remain shrouded in mystery. In these prints, Goya distilled, transformed, and twisted each subject’s social, political, and religious significance until it defied explanation. The evocative titles and innovative themes are the most ambiguous and enigmatic of any of his print series. None of the plates is dated, nor can they be identified with external events.

In 1823, fearing that his prints would compromise his safety after Ferdinand VII revoked Spain’s constitution for the second time, Goya hid his plates in his country home, along with those for "Disasters of War." He fled Spain in 1824. The plates were discovered by Goya’s grandson in 1854, and ten years later the Academia de San Fernando published an edition of eighteen of the "Disparates" plates under the title "Los Proverbios."