Fool Collection

Harlequin and Death, 1907. Artist: Somov, Konstantin Andreyevich (1869-1939)
Harlequin and Death, 1907. Found in the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Portrait of a Jester with a Lute (oil on canvas)
PWI90022 Portrait of a Jester with a Lute (oil on canvas) by Hals, Frans (1582/3-1666); Louvre, Paris, France; ePeter Willi; Dutch, out of copyright

Cartoon, Mermaids and U-Boats, WW1
Cartoon, Mermaids and U-Boats. Two mermaids and two fish are disturbed by a German U-boat which has a face like a shark. Date: 1917

Tarot Card 22 - Le Fou (The Fool)
Tarot Card 22 - Le Fou or Le Mat (The Fool)

Mr Popple Drunk 1898
After a convivial hunt breakfast at Hopham Hall, Mr Popple is found drunk and disorderly in charge of a horse

Tarot Card Fool 17C
TAROT LE FOU (The Fool)

April Fool / Coats 1924
April Fool: Two coats and hats on a stand, looking at first glance like a couple embracing

Comedian Ken Dodd with his Diddy Man Dicky Mint at Whitley Bay Playhouse on 9th December 1989

Leaving the Masqued Ball. Artist: Garcia y Ramos, Jose (1852-1912)
Leaving the Masqued Ball. Found in the collection of Museo Carmen Thyssen, Malaga

Court Jester dressed in red and blue wearing bells, stepping forward

Medical prescription, satirical artwork
Medical prescription. Satirical artwork titled Of Prescribing Foolishly, showing a patient in bed with a doctor in a fools hat (right) holding aloft a proposed treatment

Stonewall Jackson (1824-1863). American military. Portrait (1864) by J.W. King. National Portrait Gallery. Washington D.C. United States

Fight between Carnival and Lent, 1559 (oil on oak panel)
XAM634 Fight between Carnival and Lent, 1559 (oil on oak panel) by Bruegel, Pieter the Elder (c.1525-69); 26.5x39.4 cm; Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

SHAKESPEARE: KING LEAR. King Lear and the Fool. Illustration by Alonzo Chappel (1828-1887)

Advertising poster for the aperitif Diablerets (colour lithograph)
1770036 Advertising poster for the aperitif Diablerets (colour lithograph) by D Ylen, Jean (1866-1938); 128x90 cm; Private Collection; (add.info.: Advertising poster for the aperitif Diablerets)

Theatre National de l Opera, Grand bal de la Mi-Careme, 1921. Private Collection

Satirical ballooning image
A rude satirical image of large and small balloons tied together, lifting a cannon, entitled The Montgolsier. A first rate of the French Aerial Navy. A Fart, an Ass, a Fool, A Monkey, a Nothing. 1783

At the theatre / Ally Sloper
Ally Sloper visits his daughter behind the scenes at the theatre, although he oughtn t be standing there on stage right in front of the audience just as the curtain is rising

The Wrestling Scene in As You Like It, 1854 (oil on canvas)
1199485 The Wrestling Scene in As You Like It, 1854 (oil on canvas) by Maclise, Daniel (Croquis, Alfred) (1806-70); 129x177.1 cm; Private Collection; Photo © Christies Images

Midas, Transmuting all into [Gold] Paper, pub. 1797 (hand coloured engraving)
2966815 Midas, Transmuting all into [Gold] Paper, pub. 1797 (hand coloured engraving) by Gillray, James (1757-1815); Private Collection; (add.info)

MYTTON / SHORT CUT HOME
JOHN MYTTON To win a bet that he could outride a friend this eccentric squire took a short cut through a lake despite the fact he couldnt swim. Date: 1796 - 1834

JOHN RICH (1682-1761). English actor, father of English pantomine. Dancing the role of Harlequin under the stage name of Lun. Engraving, English, 1818

A jester, 1777/1783. Creator: Franz Xaver Messerschmidt
A jester, 1777/1783

A voluptuous, haggard dude, 1964. Creator: Franz Xaver Messerschmidt
A voluptuous, haggard dude, 1964

Victorian satirical cartoon, The Miser and the Dandy
Vintage engraving of a victorian satirical cartoon, 19th Century. The Satires of Cynicus. The Miser and the Dandy

Fool's Cap World Map, c.1590 (hand-coloured engraving on off-white paper, with inscriptions in iron gall ink)
1217928 Fool's Cap World Map, c.1590 (hand-coloured engraving on off-white paper, with inscriptions in iron gall ink) by Unknown Artist, (16th century); 49.7x38.8 cm; Ashmolean Museum

Court Fool
3782179 Court Fool; (add.info.: Court Fool, reproduced from a woodcut in a 1552 folio of Sebastian Munster's Cosmographie Universelle)

191213

Portrait of a man or The Mad Man, 1828 (oil on canvas)
3736123 Portrait of a man or The Mad Man, 1828 (oil on canvas) by Malatesta or Malatesti, Adeodato (1806-91); 42.8x32.8 cm; Assicoop-Unipol Collection, Modena, Emilia Romagna

Thomas Rowlandson, The Honeymoon - When the old fool has drunk his wine, and gone to rest - I will be thine. circa 1816

Its tatifolarious how tickled I am to see you again auntie. Its the King of the Diddy men and his old Auntie Annie from Knotty Ash

Comedian Ken Dodd at Tyne Tees Television after filming a showcase television spectacular for six of the top clubland acts in the region on 26th November 1980

Merthyr Tydfil boys playing
Two boys play on a bench above the steel works (now closed) at Merthyr Tydfil. Vintage black and white image. First published The Sunday Times c1989 1989

A fool with parrot, 1875. Found in the Collection of State A. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow

Victorian satirical cartoon, Masking Depression with Humor
Vintage engraving of a Victorian satire on Masking Depression with Humor, 19th Century. The merry Fool, in motley at the Fair, May hide in jest and laughter, his despair

Victorian satire on Blind Self Importance, 19th Century
Vintage engraving of a Victorian satire on Blind Self Importance, 19th Century. Blind Self Importance flaunts his feeble light

The Fool makes money when the wise man begs
Vintage engraving of a victorian satirical cartoon, 19th Century. The Satires of Cynicus. The Fool makes money when the wise man begs; Just so - It was a goose that laid the golden eggs

Jesters at the Court of Empress Anna Ioannovna, 1872. Artist: Jacobi, Valery Ivanovich (1834-1902)
Jesters at the Court of Empress Anna Ioannovna, 1872. Found in the collection of the State S. Ersya Mordovian Art Museum, Saransk

Nuhlimahla-Qagyuhl, c1914. Creator: Edward Sheriff Curtis
Nuhlimahla-Qagyuhl, c1914. Person wearing ceremonial mask of the Nuhlimahla during the during the Winter Dance ceremony. These characters impersonated fools

My Word! We caught THIS wandering here. Two young women mock a rather daft-looking young man, possibly trying to use his facial dexterity to gain their attention/affection?! Date: 1910

Theatre Theatrical Popular Entertainment Stage
theatre, theatrical, popular, entertainment, stage, play, pantomime, panto, actor, actress, actors, actresses, drama, rudyard, kipling, queens, manchester, vampire, 1920s, fool, porter, emerson

Disparate de tontos (Fool's folly), 1877 (etching, aquatint & drypoint)
3745584 Disparate de tontos (Fool's folly), 1877 (etching, aquatint & drypoint) by Goya y Lucientes, Francisco Jose de (1746-1828); 29x43 cm; Manchester Art Gallery

Bobalicon (Silly Idiot), 1864 (etching, aquatint & drypoint)
3959779 Bobalicon (Silly Idiot), 1864 (etching, aquatint & drypoint) by Goya y Lucientes, Francisco Jose de (1746-1828); 24.3x34.5 cm; Manchester Art Gallery

Costume design for The Russian Buffoon, from Sleeping Beauty, 1921 (colour litho)
STC133679 Costume design for The Russian Buffoon, from Sleeping Beauty, 1921 (colour litho) by Bakst, Leon (1866-1924); Private Collection; The Stapleton Collection

Of brekynge and hurtynge of amyte and frendshyp, illustration from Alexander Barclays English translation of The Ship
486402 Of brekynge and hurtynge of amyte and frendshyp, illustration from Alexander Barclays English translation of The Ship of Fools, from an edition published in 1874 (engraving) by German School

Buffoons in a Village, 1857 (oil on canvas)
BAL152047 Buffoons in a Village, 1857 (oil on canvas) by Riss, Francois Nicholas (1804-86); 55x73.5 cm; Museum of Tropinin and His Contemporaries, Moscow, Russia

Balaam and the Ass, 1622 (oil on panel)
990083 Balaam and the Ass, 1622 (oil on panel) by Lastman, Pieter (1583-1633); 40.3x59.4 cm; Private Collection; (add.info.: Balaam and the Ass. Pieter Lastman (1583-1633). Oil on panel

Raising Loans from Navis Stultifera (Ship of Fools), Plate 24 from Woodcuts from... 1929
Raising Loans from Navis Stultifera (Ship of Fools), Plate 24 from Woodcuts from Books of the 15th Century, 1497, portfolio assembled 1929

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"Foolishness knows no bounds as it dances through the realms of imagination. From whimsical cartoons to enchanting mermaids and treacherous U-Boats, the fool's journey takes unexpected turns. In the midst of WW1 chaos, Tarot Card 22 - Le Fou (The Fool) reminds us that even in darkness, laughter can be found. Step back in time to Mr Popple Drunk's misadventures in 1898, where his antics left everyone rolling with laughter. The Tarot Card Fool from the 17th century captures the essence of a jester's unpredictable nature. April Fool's Day brings out coats adorned with playful pranks in 1924, while Shakespeare's King Lear finds solace and wisdom through his loyal companion, the Fool. Alonzo Chappel beautifully illustrates their bond. Comedian Ken Dodd tickles funny bones alongside his Diddy Man Dicky Mint at Whitley Bay Playhouse on December 9th. Their comedic chemistry creates an uproar of joy among audiences. A court jester dressed in red and blue dons bells as they bravely step forward to entertain kings and queens throughout history. Their colorful presence adds mirth to solemn courts. Satirical artwork mocks medical prescriptions, reminding us not to take life too seriously. Laughter truly is the best medicine for our souls. In a wrestling scene straight out of Shakespeare's "As You Like It, " humor intertwines with drama as characters grapple both physically and mentally for amusement and triumph. Stonewall Jackson himself knew that amidst war's gravity, lighthearted moments could bring respite from battlefields soaked in sorrow. Finally, a timeless painting depicts Carnival playfully clashing with Lent – a reminder that even tradition cannot suppress foolishness entirely. "