To Go Amongst the Branches, i.e. to talk through one's hat, plate three from Los Proverbios

Prints and Drawings

1815/24

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes
Spanish, 1746-1828

This print belongs to a series Goya began in his late 70s but never finished before his move to France in 1824. Titled Los disparates, which roughly translates to “absurdities,” the series includes darkly enigmatic images at once sympathetic and satirical, each one suggesting human folly. Here a group of figures of various ages huddles like a flock of birds on a giant, leafless branch.

The original Spanish title of the print, Andarse por las ramas, literally means to walk between branches, but is used figuratively to mean something like the English expression “to beat around the bush.”

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes
Title: To Go Amongst the Branches, i.e. to talk through one's hat, plate three from Los Proverbios
Place: Spain (Artist's nationality)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Made 1815–1824
Medium: Etching, aquatint, and drypoint on ivory wove paper
Dimensions: Image: 21.2 × 32.3 cm (8 3/8 × 12 3/4 in.); Plate: 24.4 × 35.2 cm (9 5/8 × 13 7/8 in.); Sheet: 33.1 × 49.7 cm (13 1/16 × 19 5/8 in.)
Credit Line: The Charles Deering Collection
Reference Number: 1927.3312
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/44896/manifest.json

Delteil 204 II/III

Harris 250 III/III

Gassier and Wilson IV.1575

Pérez Sánchez & Gállego 1

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Suggested Terms