After Francisco de Goya

After FRANCISCO DE GOYA Y LUCIENTES; 20th century.
"Ridiculous nonsense. Nº3".
Etching on paper.
Measurements: 24 x 35 cm (print); 45 x 56 cm (frame).
Following the words of the Goya Foundation in Aragon regarding the Disparate, Nº3: "On a thick branch sits a large group of individuals dressed in ample clothing, impassive before another character with his back turned who addresses them by extending his right hand. Below them an immense abyss expands. The branch is lost in space, as it has no beginning or end, becoming the protagonist of the scene. The characters present a mysterious stillness and coldness, making this picture one of the most enigmatic of the series of the Disparates. They are absorbed without relating to each other and without listening to the speaker's words. They suggest coldness in their attitude of recollection. The clothes they wear accentuate this sensation, since they appear wrapped in thick blankets and towells, even one of the women has her hands inside some muffs. It is not known why Goya included the word ridiculous in the title. It seems that he wanted to disqualify this group of self-absorbed characters, isolated and unaware of the danger that lies in wait for them, represented by the emptiness that opens up at their feet. Some authors have wanted to see in this a criticism of the passivity of the aristocracy, immobile on their family tree. The dark background is achieved with aquatint, although, unlike other prints, the inking is less compact to suggest a timid twilight. With the drypoint, small touches are applied to the figures, as in the hood of the one on the far left".