Messy folly (preparatory drawing)

It is not certain that this drawing was preparatory for Messy folly, although it is possible. It seems to have been reported on copper and passed through the press, because of the black spots that appear on the lower part of the sheet, so it must be related to an engraving, although it has not been preserved.

The connection with Messy folly comes from the huge hooded central figure, covered in a kind of monastic habit, pointing an accusing finger at a figure. Behind him is a large depersonified crowd. This giant would embody the Church and through him Goya would exemplify the Church's intimidating methods over the masses, as his large size in relation to the figure he is pointing at is remarkable. The Aragonese artist disguised this attack on the Church in the passage to the print, transforming the monk into a monster who does not seem to connect with the clergy. In this process he includes in his attack the whole of complicit and condescending society, which allows itself to be manipulated by the ecclesiastical powers and by all that is related to evil.

Pierre Gassier thinks that this drawing has no connection with Messy folly, being little more than an accumulation of ideas independent of each other. He sees no connection between the giant and the crowd on the left, which could be part of another theme sketched on the free part of the sheet. This idea would be supported by the bird that appears when the sheet of paper is turned over, so that the different elements would have been produced at different times and without any connection between them.