Disparates, 2, Folly of fear, belongs to a series that Goya began in 1815 as a faithful reflection of his historical and personal context when, in the aftermath of the Peninsular War, he witnessed the collapse of part of the progressive world with which he somehow felt personally identified. He probably worked on this series until 1819, when political changes associated with the triumph of General Rafael Riego led to the proclamation of the Constitution of 1812 and a hopeful mood in which the oppressive atmosphere of the Disparates was out of place. Unfinished and incomprehensible, these works broke with what was then the official propagandistic version of events depicted by other engravers at a time of personal adulation of Ferdinand VII. This series reveals an artist who gives free rein to his creativity. The subjects that seem to bring meaning and unity to this series convey universal criticism of the essence of the human being, including fears, violence, beliefs, vices and errors. Also closely linked to the Disasters and to Goya’s painting, The 2 of May, are the soldier wielding a saber and the figure whose hands are joined in a plea for clemency. Moreover, the accumulation of figures along the entire horizon produces a greater feeling of crowding. Phantasms—beings with a false appearance that produce fear or devotion—had already appeared in previous works by Goya, including some prints from the Caprichos that criticize superstitions and the trickery of false religious beliefs. The present work, whose title was suggested by Beruete, has been the object of various interpretations, from those that view it in the context of the Peninsular War to those that see it as a parody of Ferdinand VII frightening liberal soldiers. Whatever Goya’s starting point may have been, the result is a disturbing image in which the natural order of things has been undermined. Thus, rather than displaying discipline and valor, these soldiers lie on top of each other on the ground, terrified by a puppet-like figure that is not what it appears to be (Text from Matilla, J.M.: Disparate de miedo, in: Goya en tiempos de Guerra, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2008).