Strange Devotion!, plate 66 from The Disasters of War
1815/20, published 1863
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes Spanish, 1746-1828
Spain
By depicting a skeleton in a glass coffin, possibly a reference to the Snow White fairy tale, Goya questioned the continued relevance of relics in the Roman Catholic faith. While the bowed heads of onlookers suggest that the box contains the body of an important saint, the donkey carrying it is one of Goya’s favorite embodiments of folly, underscoring the artist’s satirical intent.
Etching and burnished aquatint or lavis on ivory wove paper with gilt edges