A preparatory drawing for Disparates, 10, The Kidnapping Horse. Closely resembles Folly of Fear (D04274) in its technique, with light reddish washes to define the wooded background and more intense washes for the figures. Its notable similarity to the corresponding engraving (G02178) reveals that Goya conceived this drawing with considerable compositional clarity, unlike others in the series. However, he made significant changes that affect the print’s definitive meaning: the man who has fallen at the horse’s feet has been replaced by a monstrous head with a human figure inside it. The trees in the background have been eliminated to make room for another monstrous animal, and finally, aquatint has been employed to transform the image into a night scene. Once again, Goya’s starting point is an apparently realistic drawing, but the image takes on airs of fantasy and double entendre in the print. It has generally been interpreted as an allegory of sexual passion, personified by the horse, and by the woman who allows herself to be carried away despite the risk of being devoured. It has also been linked to the legend of a bewitched man who turns into a horse and kills a woman’s husband in order to kidnap her. In the preliminary drawing, the woman’s open mouth connotes surprise and even terror, but in the print, she sports a smile that notably transforms the work’s meaning into something more pleasurable. Moreover, the dramatic force of the man’s fallen body, with his legs resting on a tree trunk, recalls Goya’s then recent war images. Thus, we can see how a terrifying scene becomes much more dreamy, as the monsters appearing in the background contribute to its nocturnal atmosphere. In an effort to link it to the rest of the Disparates series, this work traditionally known as The Kidnapping Horse has also been called Unbridled Folly. In 1928, Sánchez Cantón called it Woman snatched by a horse. Creases on the upper edge and the marks of a copper engraving plate unmistakably reveal the pressure applied in transferring the image to that plate. Their proximity to the top and left edges also indicate that it was shifted with respect to the drawn composition. (Text from: Matilla, J.M.: El caballo raptor, in: Goya en tiempos de Guerra, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2008).