The Proverbs: Two Heads are Better than One or Poor Folly (1816–1823 (printed c. 1863)): Art, History and Details

The Proverbs: Two Heads are Better than One or Poor Folly (1816–1823 (printed c. 1863)) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Francisco de Goya (Spanish, 1746–1828).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The Proverbs are a group of 22 prints that are among the most powerful, original, and enigmatic of Goya's etchings. Although many of the scenes can be identified with proverbs, it is hard to judge the political, religious, or social connotations of these works. Many of the prints represent carnival themes, which Goya may have used as an allegory to express ideas concerning the state of Spain and his personal life.

Object facts

• Title: The Proverbs: Two Heads are Better than One or Poor Folly
• Date: 1816–1823 (printed c. 1863)
• Creator attribution: Francisco de Goya (Spanish, 1746–1828)
• Culture: Spain
• Type: Print
• Technique: etching, aquatint, drypoint and engraving
• Collection: PR - Etching
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1996.7

Collection credit

Edwin R. and Harriet Pelton Perkins Memorial Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Cleveland Museum of Art, “The Cleveland Museum of Art Acquires Major Works,” March 18, 1996, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.