An Allegory of Folly 

Editor: So, here we have "An Allegory of Folly," a quirky oil painting. Its painter is Quentin Matsys. The date of production seems unknown, although this looks like something out of the Northern Renaissance. The figure is…unflattering, to say the least! She looks like the sort of character that might chase you through a fairytale. What is your take on it? Curator: This is just the kind of face that makes my imagination simmer. See how Matsys doesn't just show us foolishness, but lets us in on the joke? It's as if folly herself is smirking at some delicious secret we aren't privy to. Note the rooster-comb hat – the symbol of arrogance. And what do you make of that doll skewered on her staff, bum-upwards? A mockery of innocence, perhaps? Or a childish embrace of chaos? Editor: It's grotesque, yet there's something… magnetic about it. It feels almost satirical. Do you think that was Matsys' intention? Curator: Undoubtedly. These Northern Renaissance painters loved to load their works with symbolism and moral lessons, but always with a twinkle in their eye. It is both a caricature and a mirror reflecting our own capacity for irrationality. Isn't it interesting that while we’re chuckling *at* her, there’s also a nagging sense that we’re somehow chuckling *with* her? Editor: That's true; it makes you wonder, where do you draw the line between embracing folly and *being* foolish? I really did not expect this piece to resonate so strongly with me. Curator: That is the magic of Matsys. He’s poking at something essential, a little kernel of joyous madness we all carry within us. Now, isn't that worth pondering?