Figures of the Fool. From the Middle Ages to the Romantics

This old man on all fours, ridden and whipped by a woman, is Aristotle, who has fallen under the yoke of the troubling Phyllis. The philosopher, tutor to Alexander the Great, saw his pupil monopolised by this beautiful "Indian" and ordered him to distance himself from her and to give in to only one of his senses, that of duty. In revenge, Phyllis set out to inflame Aristotle’s desire: she flaunted herself before him and assured him that he could possess her if he first agreed to serve as her mount, which he did. The young woman made sure that Alexander saw them and laughed at his tutor who, like him, had lost his mind because of Eros. The subject, taken from a 13th-century courtly lai, was used on a wide range of objects, including aquamaniles, ivory boxes and a stovetop perfectly suited to the fires of passion. (ill. 1)
Love is just one of many follies, the first of which is the denial of God. So begins Psalm 52 of the Old Testament: "The fool says in his heart, ’There is no God’". Medieval illuminations often feature a figure of a fool in the first letter of the verse.

The Old French word fol is derived from the Latin follis, the bellows: he is the one whose head is empty, crossed by draughts, but also, sometimes, by the breath of the Saint’s Spirit. Francis of Assisi was nicknamed "God’s fool" because he renounced the goods of this world for love of Christ. It’s not so easy to determine who is sane. For, as Saint Paul would say, what is foolishness in the eyes of men is wisdom in the eyes of God.
In French, the word "fou" refers to an idiot, an unreasonable person, a jester or a mentally ill person - notions that are distinct in other languages. The Musée du Louvre explores this multiplicity of meanings - and of "insensés" - in a rich…