Funereal folly

The body of a dead man lies on the ground wrapped in a shroud. One end of the shroud rises to cover part of a bald old man, with a cadaverous face, who levitates through the air. This figure has been identified with the soul of the dead man who ascends, not to heaven, but to a world populated by spirits and spectres. Harpies fly up to him. In the upper left corner a hanged man hangs inert and, next to him, another series of figures dressed in cloaks also approach him. On the right, a group of figures express different attitudes: one raises his arms and another expresses astonishment. They are often associated with the ghosts of the deceased's victims, who haunt his soul beyond death.

This print is possibly an expression of Goya's emotional state at a difficult time, during the last years of his life, when he had to make the difficult decision of whether or not to go into exile outside his homeland.

A very heavy aquatint ensures a blackness that facilitates Goya's shadowy vision. He uses the burnisher to achieve the few illuminated areas and the burin to reinforce the line of the back of the central figure.

The main character in this print is related, in inverted position, to the falling demon in the preparatory drawing for an unrealised Follies entitled The Desperationof Satan.