A Way of Flying, from Disparates, published as plate 13 in Los Proverbios (Proverbs)

Description

Near the end of his life, Francisco de Goya created a satirical series of etchings published as Los proverbios (Proverbs). The series was also known as Los disparates, meaning “nonsense” or “follies.” Although Goya often used flying as a symbol of man’s evil and vanity, this group of prints contains some of his most mysterious and complex imagery, which he intentionally left open to many interpretations.

A Way of Flying, from Disparates, published as plate 13 in Los Proverbios (Proverbs)

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes

1815–17, published 1864

Accession Number

129714

Medium

Etching and aquatint in brown-black on ivory wove paper

Dimensions

Image: 21.8 × 32.5 cm (8 5/8 × 12 13/16 in.); Plate: 24.5 × 35.4 cm (9 11/16 × 13 15/16 in.); Sheet: 33.1 × 49.7 cm (13 1/16 × 19 5/8 in.)

Classification

etching

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

The Charles Deering Collection