Artist: Francisco Goya
Dimensions: 266 x 345 cm
Questions: what is the under-meaning of
this art? Is there any political view taken in this art? What technique is
used? How did printer express his feeling about this war?
In 1807, Napoleon invaded Spain and made Charles IV and his son Ferdinand VII
to give up the throne. The Spaniards rebelled while they sent the members of
Spain royal family to France because they feared there would be execution than
exile. On the second of May 1808, French fired and gathered in protest in the
royal palace which located in Madrid which leaded to the street fighting in the
city. Hundreds of revolts and executions were arose. Although the initial
rebellion was successful, the Peninsular War plagued Joseph’s rule. (Napoleon’s
brother)
Goya admired the French enlightenment of freedoms previously. Spanish were
weary of Charles IVs’ faltering efforts and the improvement of Ferdinand. But
Napoleon stopped anything that Spanish liberals wanted for freedom of French.
He welcomed the movement of French and against inquisition of Spain. However,
wars were happened in the name of democracy and freedom, faith was lost in
their claims.
During the 6 years of occupation by French, Goya was living in Madrid. There is
so much speculation about whether he saw the event of ‘the second of May’ and
‘the third of May’. Evidences show that he owned a property in La Quinta.
Massacres were taken place in there too. Goya maybe the victim, being the
observer. The ‘Disasters of War’ and ‘Black Paintings’ are from the last
several years of Goya’s life. These maybe the annotation of the barbaric
characteristic of wars, painful effects on the whole society.
Working in the Spanish royal court as a designer and printer, Goya had created
profitable relationship between the clergy and nobility. He found that he was
in a tough spot as being a supporter of republics’ founding of new French. The
relationship between Spain and France became precarious, especially the
beheading of French Louis XVI, Goya separated the output between royal
portraits and satirical prints that damaged the religion and society
institutions.
The third of May was well-known that it appeared in covers of book
and postage stamps. Epitomizing Goya’s art and Spanish spirit of revolutionary
heroism. The violence moved depicting public execution on 3 may 1808. Comparing
to street battle of vigour, Spaniards gained upper hand, the massacre of
people, which French carried out for avenge, had been painted in the most
attractive color.
At the left of the art, unarmed people are kneeling with mingled blood and
bodies of death. They are facing a firing squad and at the back of a mound. On
the right , the first squad is ready to fire and carry out execution. Spectators
gather at the back and watch the condemnation and execution. The sky is black
which is full of sadness and gloominess. The palace is lifeless and lacks of
grandeur. The illumination comes from the lantern between the feet of the
soldiers. The church is full of darkness and it stands silently at the face of
French invaders. The hill in the mirrors mid-ground in the monk grasping his
firsts which leads the viewers’ eyes to the anonymous figure of Napoleonic
army.
The man with white shirt seems to be a Christ figure. The stance likes Christ
on the cross and he has stigmata about Christ. And this man maybe the martyr of
the town. That’s why he is in white shirt but not soiled. Also, his clothes are
clean which has a big difference comparing to other Spaniards. These people at
the back are wearing blood stained and dirty clothes with dark colors. The man
is white shirt also gives the squad a pleading symbol. He knows he is going to
be shoot. Besides, the V spread arms represent peace and something the squad don’t
regard for. Also, this V makes a focal point of the work which becomes a
dynamic choice of the composition. His shape mirrors with the death at the
foreground which face outwards towards audience and open a space to that of the
audience. It seems like he falls into audience’s space and includes viewers’
action. The central figure is also in the strong light opposing to other parts.
There is lots of empty space between the central figure. The facial expression
of the central figure is stronger than other parts of the work. hatch
brush strokes are visible which creates energetic effect. Lights from the
lantern in the background adds drama at the stage.
The dead bodies who had already been shoot were tossed aside so as to make room
for next victims. These dead people were cast aside left and piled up . they
would be burnt. Whether dead bodies were picked up is in the basis of whether
they carried weapon which shows inhuman treatment to citizens and lacks of
human concerns. The paintings shoes clearly that people who were shot were
lying on the bloody pools. Callousness and senselessness can be observed in
this painting.
The face of the squad are hidden from viewers but victims can see their face
clearly and find that they are being stared down by squad’s guns. Unsoiled
clothing means that the squad are above dirty clothes which place them in a
higher level.
The lantern is set between these 2 groups of people which creates a dramatic
light at the stage. The light illuminates on the victims to the left side
including the monk. From the center of the work and the immediate right, other
victims stand next to be shot. The center focus is the man kneeling the
bloodied dead bodies which had been executed. Flinging widely of his arms seems
that he would like to appeal.
The squad was engulfed by the shadow showing as a very large, solid, and
impressive unit. Their shako form an immutable column. Most of their faces are
hidden but the man of the right main victim peeps towards the soldiers.
This art focuses on the death and the one who would be dead. It is reasonable
to conclude that this painting consists essence of death and horror.
Sympathy is aroused from the observation because of the helpless people who are
going to die. However, we can observe it from other perspective. These people
need to face justice. Oppression is turned against them. The monk reminds
audiences the inquisition of Spanish. After experiencing the destruction and
death, here comes their fate. Painters didn’t show us the real faces of the
executioners because it is really not important that who carries out the
justice. Some said that they are French soldiers but some said that their
uniform does not support this view.
Spectators who are watching the execution seems to be innocent because they are
not in invasion or uprising. But some said that they are treacherous who had
benefited in being Spanish but refusing to fight for their own country. They
said these spectators were the cowards who watched the execution of heroes.
Guilty of these cowards’ makes that they will not have direct eyes contact with
the condemned one or the soldiers. Some of them watched the execution with
hesitance while some of them feel shameful with covering their eyes.
Goya chose not to admire the glory of the leader but the nameless person in the
street. Spanish regarded this work as an icon of nationalism. Mass media always
draw publics’ attention to the normal peoples’ view of political events even
their own experience or their response to conflicts and wars.
Death is an inevitability for us in everyone’s life. This work is about
universal and enduring theme that it talks about the death of Spain. The
unpleasant quality that the blood is caking and these dead bodies are piling
up, the clear fear in this description of characters in the work are alive that
are waiting for their fate and death. The true horror is that the moment of
central figure before death, the facial expression creates viewers wonder his
thoughts and bringing viewers round to our death too.
Source :
(New York : Harper & Row, c1979)
(Malden, MA ; Oxford : Blackwell Pub., 2005)
5.
Artist: Francisco Goya
Completion Date: 1814
Style: Romanticism
Genre: history painting
Technique: oil
Material: canvas
Dimensions: 266 x 345 cm
Questions: what is the under-meaning of
this art? Is there any political view taken in this art? What technique is
used? How did printer express his feeling about this war?
In 1807, Napoleon invaded Spain and made Charles IV and his son Ferdinand VII to give up the throne. The Spaniards rebelled while they sent the members of Spain royal family to France because they feared there would be execution than exile. On the second of May 1808, French fired and gathered in protest in the royal palace which located in Madrid which leaded to the street fighting in the city. Hundreds of revolts and executions were arose. Although the initial rebellion was successful, the Peninsular War plagued Joseph’s rule. (Napoleon’s brother)
Goya admired the French enlightenment of freedoms previously. Spanish were weary of Charles IVs’ faltering efforts and the improvement of Ferdinand. But Napoleon stopped anything that Spanish liberals wanted for freedom of French. He welcomed the movement of French and against inquisition of Spain. However, wars were happened in the name of democracy and freedom, faith was lost in their claims.
During the 6 years of occupation by French, Goya was living in Madrid. There is so much speculation about whether he saw the event of ‘the second of May’ and ‘the third of May’. Evidences show that he owned a property in La Quinta. Massacres were taken place in there too. Goya maybe the victim, being the observer. The ‘Disasters of War’ and ‘Black Paintings’ are from the last several years of Goya’s life. These maybe the annotation of the barbaric characteristic of wars, painful effects on the whole society.
Working in the Spanish royal court as a designer and printer, Goya had created profitable relationship between the clergy and nobility. He found that he was in a tough spot as being a supporter of republics’ founding of new French. The relationship between Spain and France became precarious, especially the beheading of French Louis XVI, Goya separated the output between royal portraits and satirical prints that damaged the religion and society institutions.
The third of May was well-known that it appeared in covers of book
and postage stamps. Epitomizing Goya’s art and Spanish spirit of revolutionary
heroism. The violence moved depicting public execution on 3 may 1808. Comparing
to street battle of vigour, Spaniards gained upper hand, the massacre of
people, which French carried out for avenge, had been painted in the most
attractive color.
At the left of the art, unarmed people are kneeling with mingled blood and bodies of death. They are facing a firing squad and at the back of a mound. On the right , the first squad is ready to fire and carry out execution. Spectators gather at the back and watch the condemnation and execution. The sky is black which is full of sadness and gloominess. The palace is lifeless and lacks of grandeur. The illumination comes from the lantern between the feet of the soldiers. The church is full of darkness and it stands silently at the face of French invaders. The hill in the mirrors mid-ground in the monk grasping his firsts which leads the viewers’ eyes to the anonymous figure of Napoleonic army.
The man with white shirt seems to be a Christ figure. The stance likes Christ on the cross and he has stigmata about Christ. And this man maybe the martyr of the town. That’s why he is in white shirt but not soiled. Also, his clothes are clean which has a big difference comparing to other Spaniards. These people at the back are wearing blood stained and dirty clothes with dark colors. The man is white shirt also gives the squad a pleading symbol. He knows he is going to be shoot. Besides, the V spread arms represent peace and something the squad don’t regard for. Also, this V makes a focal point of the work which becomes a dynamic choice of the composition. His shape mirrors with the death at the foreground which face outwards towards audience and open a space to that of the audience. It seems like he falls into audience’s space and includes viewers’ action. The central figure is also in the strong light opposing to other parts. There is lots of empty space between the central figure. The facial expression of the central figure is stronger than other parts of the work. hatch brush strokes are visible which creates energetic effect. Lights from the lantern in the background adds drama at the stage.
The dead bodies who had already been shoot were tossed aside so as to make room for next victims. These dead people were cast aside left and piled up . they would be burnt. Whether dead bodies were picked up is in the basis of whether they carried weapon which shows inhuman treatment to citizens and lacks of human concerns. The paintings shoes clearly that people who were shot were lying on the bloody pools. Callousness and senselessness can be observed in this painting.
The face of the squad are hidden from viewers but victims can see their face clearly and find that they are being stared down by squad’s guns. Unsoiled clothing means that the squad are above dirty clothes which place them in a higher level.
These victims are meaningless and useless to the squad. Any live
can be quickly shoot down by them.
The lantern is set between these 2 groups of people which creates a dramatic light at the stage. The light illuminates on the victims to the left side including the monk. From the center of the work and the immediate right, other victims stand next to be shot. The center focus is the man kneeling the bloodied dead bodies which had been executed. Flinging widely of his arms seems that he would like to appeal.
The squad was engulfed by the shadow showing as a very large, solid, and impressive unit. Their shako form an immutable column. Most of their faces are hidden but the man of the right main victim peeps towards the soldiers.
This art focuses on the death and the one who would be dead. It is reasonable to conclude that this painting consists essence of death and horror.
Sympathy is aroused from the observation because of the helpless people who are going to die. However, we can observe it from other perspective. These people need to face justice. Oppression is turned against them. The monk reminds audiences the inquisition of Spanish. After experiencing the destruction and death, here comes their fate. Painters didn’t show us the real faces of the executioners because it is really not important that who carries out the justice. Some said that they are French soldiers but some said that their uniform does not support this view.
Spectators who are watching the execution seems to be innocent because they are not in invasion or uprising. But some said that they are treacherous who had benefited in being Spanish but refusing to fight for their own country. They said these spectators were the cowards who watched the execution of heroes. Guilty of these cowards’ makes that they will not have direct eyes contact with the condemned one or the soldiers. Some of them watched the execution with hesitance while some of them feel shameful with covering their eyes.
Goya chose not to admire the glory of the leader but the nameless person in the street. Spanish regarded this work as an icon of nationalism. Mass media always draw publics’ attention to the normal peoples’ view of political events even their own experience or their response to conflicts and wars.
Death is an inevitability for us in everyone’s life. This work is about universal and enduring theme that it talks about the death of Spain. The unpleasant quality that the blood is caking and these dead bodies are piling up, the clear fear in this description of characters in the work are alive that are waiting for their fate and death. The true horror is that the moment of central figure before death, the facial expression creates viewers wonder his thoughts and bringing viewers round to our death too.
Source :
1.Romanticism by Hugh Honour
(New York : Harper & Row, c1979)
(New York : Harper & Row, c1979)
2.Romanticism and art / William Vaughan
(London : Thames and Hudson, c1994)
3. A companion to European Romanticism / edited by Michael Ferber
(Malden, MA ; Oxford : Blackwell Pub., 2005)
(Malden, MA ; Oxford : Blackwell Pub., 2005)
4. H. W.
Janson, History of Art, 5th ed. (Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1962/1995).
30,000 Years of
Art. (Phaidon Press Ltd., 2007)
5.
5.
Jos: Hazel did quite well on analyzing the history of Spain and the execution show to be related to Goya’s painting. I really didn’t know the history before I read Arial’s analysis. You explained very detailed like how Delacroix imagined Spaniards rebelled and what painting techniques Goya applied. You said this painting made us feel fear, frightened and fierce. I totally agree with you because this picture talked about military coup and then the terrible and horrible atmosphere was what Goya wanted to express. He might want to told the viewer how war was cruel and iron-hearted.
ReplyDeleteHazel’s essay is well-organized and you separate different topics into different paragraphs. There are both introduction and conclusion. I guess the analysis you wrote by your own words. I can see that you generalized the main ideas and briefly analyzed what you thought.
Ariel: Hi : )
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your great efforts put in this essay, I can see you have done a lot of research and prepared well. You introduced the history background behind in detail, with sufficient additional history information as well.
Apart from this, you also explained thoroughly about the essential elements of the painting, such as characters, expression of feelings, light, tone, colors, brushstrokes, composition etc. And I think this part is especially well done.
Besides, I would appreciate if you could tell us more about how this painting fits into the Romantic style. Since this is one of the main focus in the essay. Overall, my suggestion is to proofread once more.
There are some grammar mistakes that you can avoid, eg. you spell "print" and "printer" all over the essay, do you mean by "paint" and "painter"? Also, in paragraph 9 line 4, I guess it should be "the man in white shirt" instead of "the man is white shirt".
Another suggestion is to put more signposting before you make each point. It will be much clearer to read and follow. Since I'm not very sure about which paragraph is your comment, which one is the general ideas you summarized from books.
I hope this can help.