Game of the lottery of the man weak in character (Baldragas) 1855 - 1865

Editor: So, this print is called "Game of the lottery of the man weak in character (Baldragas)" by Antonio Bosch, placing it somewhere between 1855 and 1865. It's currently housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, rendered in engraving. The entire work is composed of little vignettes which looks like a very elaborate and probably ill-fated board game. What do you make of it? Curator: "Ill-fated" hits a chord! For me, it whispers tales of societal structures rigged against… well, Baldragas! And isn't that us, sometimes? Each scene seems to compress an entire morality play into a tiny frame. I find myself constructing narratives between them. Are we witnessing a descent, or perhaps, a climb fraught with folly? Do you sense a satirical jab here? Editor: I definitely see the satire, yes! There is such a range of emotion on display, from dramatic to banal. Each image on its own could be a scene from any Romantic era novel. It's also odd, this combination of something resembling almost clip art with very dramatic themes and figures... Curator: Precisely! Romanticism reveled in dramatic highs and lows. Maybe Bosch is poking fun at that very tendency! Consider the title…is it just the “weak” man, or is Bosch inviting us to play the lottery too? Perhaps each of us risk being Baldragas! Is it the medium--printmaking and the mass production of narrative-- itself being brought to task for creating such predictable characters in predictable stories? What do you think? Editor: Hmmm, I never thought about the medium's connection to it. It's fascinating to think about art forms turning the mirror on themselves. I think I initially underestimated the depth behind this seemingly simple print. It’s amazing how much commentary can be packed into something so small and repetitive. Curator: Right? And, who knows…maybe *we* are closer to finding that punchline Bosch has so wonderfully hidden.