21. Fritz Eichenberg
(1901-1990)

The Follies of the Court

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Eichenberg: The Follies of the Court

The Follies of the Court

Wood engraving, 1972, 455 x 305 mm., from Erasmus' In Praise of Folly, regular edition of 100 (150 in all), signed and numbered in pencil. Eichenberg has created a witty visual conception, whose brazenness matches that of the sixteenth century bestseller by the humanist Erasmus. The artist acknowledged that Erasmus gave him the incentive to show that "Dame Folly hasn't changed her face during the past 300 years." Feeling blessed to be in the presence of Divine Majesty, the princes, bishop, knights, and buffoons bow down. But they bow down not to a king, but only to a crown, chains, a robe, plus a barking parrot (which serves as a surrogate figurehead). According to Erasmus, "if these men had an ounce of good sense, what could be more wretched and repellent than the life they lead?" To which Eichenberg's visual response is, "not much."