Disparate general (General Folly)

Disparate general (General Folly) is a profound work of graphic art by Francisco Goya, dating from approximately 1816. The piece is classified as a print, specifically an etching and burnished aquatint. Although Goya created the plates during the tumultuous period of 1801 to 1825, this particular impression is a rare trial proof printed posthumously between 1854 and 1863, highlighting the lasting interest in the artist’s most unsettling visions.

This image belongs to Goya's highly enigmatic and technically demanding final series of prints, known collectively as Los Disparates (The Follies) or Proverbios. Created late in the artist’s life, these works embody the disillusionment following the Peninsular War and the collapse of Enlightenment ideals in Spanish culture. The series reflects the transition toward Romanticism, characterized by dark emotionality and skepticism toward institutional authority. Goya employed the complex medium of aquatint to achieve deep tonal variations, lending the imagery a stark, nocturnal quality appropriate to the unsettling subject matter.

In Disparate general, Goya critiques generalized human irrationality and the chaotic results of mass hysteria. While the precise narrative remains elusive, typical of the Disparates series, the composition often depicts shadowy figures engaged in senseless, panicked actions or confused, ritualistic behavior. The work stands as a stark commentary on political and social abuses prevalent in Spain during the artist's era, characterized by violence and superstition overriding reason.

This exceptional example of the Spanish master's late printmaking, even as a posthumous impression, preserves the stark intensity of the original design. The work is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., representing a pivotal example of late graphic arts created during the period 1801 to 1825. These challenging prints were largely unavailable during Goya's lifetime, but today, many of these influential works are accessible to the public domain through major museum collections.