Within the corpus of drawings by the Viennese theatre engineer Lodovico Ottavio Burnacini (1636-1707), there is a group of sketches entitled Buffoni, e Matti (“Fools and Madmen”). These are comic-grotesque pairs, each with a female and a male figure, in which Burnacini depicts folly in its various shades.
Of all the works by the great stage and costume designer that have survived to the present day – not only the drawings in the Theatermuseum in Vienna, but his entire graphic œuvre, which also includes numerous copperplate engravings scattered all over the world - this series is undoubtedly the one that focuses most strongly on the psychology of the characters. Behind opulent and colourful costumes and caricature-like faces that give the appearance of unnatural, typified and almost stilted disguises, there are attitudes and expressions that convey clearly defined character traits and feelings.
The fool on the left, who lifts her skirt after farting profusely, and the man on the right, who recoils helplessly in disgust at the foul-smelling flatulence, make for a particularly grotesque scene.

For more information about Burnacini and his grotesque characters, see the book Groteske Komödie