1592
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Wisdom of Fools is a 1592 ink by Hendrik Goltzius, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This engraving shows three odd-looking men tangled together in a forest. One wears a fancy hat, another has a feathered cap, and the third looks like a mix of human and animal. They’re squinting, pointing, and holding a small object between them—maybe a flower or a bug. Trees and leaves fill the background, but the focus is on their confused, exaggerated faces. The artist used sharp lines and shading to make the scene feel chaotic. The text below is in Latin, but it’s not clear what it says without help. Want to know more? Try looking up engraving.
Hendrick Goltzius (German: , Dutch: ; né Goltz; January or February 1558 – 1 January 1617) was a German-born Dutch printmaker, draftsman, and painter.
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