Goya's final print series, Los Disparates (Follies, or Irrationalities), does not tell a traditional story; rather, it provides visual ruminations on abstract concepts, such as fear, disorder, madness, and nonsense. Composed over two decades after the artist was deafened by an illness, this print cycle full of ominous and enigmatic scenes has been often interpreted through the lens of political and social turmoil of post-Napoleonic Spain, and the zealous religious practices of the Church.
This series follows no logical order or narrative sequence, leaving the imagery open to interpretations and associations.
It remained unpublished during Goya's lifetime, perhaps out of fear of crackdowns by the Spanish Inquisition. Goya himself used the title 'disparates' in her preparatory drawings and working proofs, but the series was first published posthumously in 1864 under the title Los Proverbios (Proverbs) by the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid. (DC)