This daring feat may represent a real circus act or it may be a surreal fantasy drawn from Goya’s imagination. The dark and confusing composition makes it difficult to determine whether the rope is actually suspended in the air or simply runs along the ground. The awed spectators, many of whom close their eyes in astonishment at the dangerous exploit, seem unaware of the possible deception.

This work is among four prints from Los Disparates first published in the French magazine L’Art in 1877. The copperplates had been separated from the rest of the series after Goya’s death and did not come to light until 1870.