References : Goya – The Third of May 1808. Hugh Thomas. 1972. Published by Penguin Press.

Born at Fuendetodos, nr Saragossa, Aragon. 30 March 1746. Died 16-Apr-1828 at Bordeaux. Went to Rome 1771 and settle in Madrid 1773. Appoint as King’s painter in 1786. Permanently deaf in 1793 due to illness. French occupation. Reinstated as Court Painter at the Restoration in 1814. Began Black Paintings in 1820. Settle in Bordeaux in 1824.

Goya’s styles changed a lot in his life-time. In his younger day, he was optimistic and idealistic, as he grew older he became disillustioned and saw life more pessimistic.

Commissioned by Cardinal Don Luis Maria de Borbon. First recorded in the store of Prado in 1834.

Commissioned by Cardinal Don Luis Maria de Borbon. First recorded in the store of Prado in 1834.

The Shootings of 3rd May, 1808, 1814, Oil on canvas. 104x136 cm. Francisco Goya. Spanish. Museo del Prado. Madrid.

The lantern before electricity. Draw toward the victim. Faceless soldiers. The deads on the ground.

The lantern before electricity. Draw toward the victim. Faceless soldiers. The deads on the ground.

It must be an amusing painting in the days when there was no TV to see executions. I wonder how Goya get to see this.

It is about the horror of war. In addition there is a series of engraving on the horrors preceded the painting 3 May 1808. This is in contrast with previous painting that commemorate victory of war. His engrave is never heroic. Titles also suggest an anti-war intention. The executioners are also faceless. Children and women begging for their own lives. Venetian paintings on battles, Uccello etc. Previous paintings on war had dignified it. Princely victory & honour. Breaking new group on war. Confusion, no focal point. Blood thirty mob. Four deads, two soldier, two civilian. Precious war painting frequently glorify war, particularly the heroic leader of the day. Many commemorated victories.

It is about the horror of war. In addition there is a series of engraving on the horrors preceded the painting 3 May 1808. This is in contrast with previous painting that commemorate victory of war. His engrave is never heroic. Titles also suggest an anti-war intention. The executioners are also faceless. Children and women begging for their own lives. Venetian paintings on battles, Uccello etc. Previous paintings on war had dignified it. Princely victory & honour. Breaking new group on war. Confusion, no focal point. Blood thirty mob. Four deads, two soldier, two civilian. Precious war painting frequently glorify war, particularly the heroic leader of the day. Many commemorated victories.

It is about the horror of war. In addition there is a series of engraving on the horrors preceded the painting 3 May 1808. This is in contrast with previous painting that commemorate victory of war. His engrave is never heroic. Titles also suggest an anti-war intention. The executioners are also faceless. Children and women begging for their own lives. Venetian paintings on battles, Uccello etc. Previous paintings on war had dignified it. Princely victory & honour. Breaking new group on war. Confusion, no focal point. Blood thirty mob. Four deads, two soldier, two civilian. Precious war painting frequently glorify war, particularly the heroic leader of the day. Many commemorated victories.

Execution of Emperor Maximilian. 1867. by Edouard Manet. Manheim Kunsthalle, Germany. Massacre in Korea 1951. Pablo Picasso.

Today would it be possible for an artist to free express an anti-war sentiment. Photos of dead GIs are surpress.

The Third of May 1808 c.1814 The horror of an execution or the glory of insurrection? Francisco José Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) at the Museo del Prado, Madrid Jerry Tse, August 2005. London. Version 2.0 M1 All rights reserved. Available free for non-commercial and non-profit use only.

Goya (1746-1828) - The Man “The whole world is a farce; its faces, its appearance, its voice – all are a nightmare. Everyone wants to seem what they are not, all deceive each other and no-one knows himself.” - Goya

Goya (1746-1828) - The Man “The whole world is a farce; its faces, its appearance, its voice – all are a nightmare. Everyone wants to seem what they are not, all deceive each other and no-one knows himself.” - Goya Born in 1746, near Saragossa in Spain, he began work in Madrid at the age of 18 (1764). His early works typically painted gay and happy scenes. Success came late, at 40 (1786), when he was appointed as a royal painter. In 1792 he was taken ill and became deaf, which made him introspective. His most remarkable works were produced in this period. Goya worked for Joseph Bonaparte under the French occupation. He was later pardoned by the Spanish Court. He left Spain in 1824, after a failed attempt to restore a liberal government, on a self-imposed exile in France. He died in Bordeaux at the age of 82, his remains were finally returned to Madrid in 1900. In later life he produces a series of bizarre, fantastic and dramatic works, with a horrific and gloomy outlook on humanity, the so called ‘black paintings’. Goya changed his style throughout his life.

Goya and his work The Straw Manikin (Detail. Full size 267x160cm. Museo del Prado, Madrid.) Painted in 1792 and typical of his early works. Goya created these gay, colourful and large paintings for the royal tapestry hanging on wall. Shown above is an earlier work painted in 1792.

Goya and his work The Straw Manikin (Detail. Full size 267x160cm. Museo del Prado, Madrid.) Painted in 1792 and typical of his early works. Goya created these gay, colourful and large paintings for the royal tapestry hanging on wall. In contrast to his earlier work, this picture (Details. Museo del Prado Madrid) is one of his ‘black paintings’ that adorned his house. The painting shows Saturn devouring one of his children, afraid that they might grow up to usurp him. It depicts the irrationality of old age. Shown above is an earlier work painted in 1792. On the right is one of his later works, a ‘black painting’, painted following his deafness and the horrific violence during the war with the French.

French Occupation In 1808, Napoleon marched into the Iberian peninsula (Portugal & Spain). The Duke of Wellington was stationed in Portugal and fought the French army, which eventually led to the defeat of Napoleon in 1814. On 2nd May 1808, the Spaniards began a popular uprising against the occupying French army in Madrid. The French cruelly put down the uprising using calculated savagery to terrorise. Some 5000 inhabitants were randomly chosen to be shot on 3rd May as retribution. From then onward, the Spanish adopted guerrilla warfare to fight the French with some success.

French Occupation In 1808, Napoleon marched into the Iberian peninsula (Portugal & Spain). The Duke of Wellington was stationed in Portugal and fought the French army, which eventually led to the defeat of Napoleon in 1814. On 2nd May 1808, the Spaniards began a popular uprising against the occupying French army in Madrid. The French cruelly put down the uprising using calculated savagery to terrorise. Some 5000 inhabitants were randomly chosen to be shot on 3rd May as retribution. From then onward, the Spanish adopted guerrilla warfare to fight the French with some success. Six years later in 1814, after the defeat of Napoleon, Goya immortalised the brave event by painting two large paintings of the insurrection. The Second of May 1808. (1814). Goya. Prado, Madrid. – Goya depicts ghastly and bloody confusion. There is no sense of patriotism, just horror and inhumanity. The Third of May 1808. (1814). Prado. Civilians shot in cold blood.

The Shootings of 3rd May 1808

The Painting – The central group The painting centres around four groups of men, amid a lantern, as dawn breaks. The first and most prominent group are the men being shot. How would you described the emotions of the men being shot? Defiance or despair? The Shootings of 3rd May 1808 – Central Group

The Painting – The central group His eyes are wild open staring directly into the barrel of the gun. Next to him another man stares fixedly on the starless night sky. The painting centres around four groups of men, amid a lantern, as dawn breaks. The first and most prominent group are the men being shot. Nearest to us is a friar with his hand clasped, presumably praying, on his knees. These are frightened men pleading for their lives in a shocking reality The man in a bright white shirt, perhaps a half gipsy, has his arms outstretched in a ‘V’ sign, kneeling beside a pool of blood. His right hand appears to be pierced at the palm. How would you described the emotions of the men being shot? Defiance or despair? The Shootings of 3rd May 1808 – Central Group

The Painting - Executioners & the Victims The firing squad unlike their victims are faceless, lined up with identical postures locked together, like relentless and mindless machines. The executioners always cover their faces. The Shootings of 3rd May 1808 – Executioners

The Painting - Executioners & the Victims Then there is the dead man on the foreground, with his face covered in blood. His arms also make a ‘V’ sign, echoing the fate of the man in white shirt. Strangely enough the ‘V’ sign posture can also found on the Second of May painting of a dead soldier on the foreground on the left. What does this ‘V’ sign posture mean? The firing squad unlike their victims are faceless, lined up with identical postures locked together, like relentless and mindless machines. The executioners always cover their faces. The Shootings of 3rd May 1808 – Victims

The Painting - Executioners & the Victims Then there is the dead man on the foreground, with his face covered in blood. His arms also make a ‘V’ sign, echoing the fate of the man in white shirt. Strangely enough the ‘V’ sign posture can also found on the Second of May painting of a dead soldier on the foreground on the left. What does this ‘V’ sign posture mean? Lastly is the group of men lined up waiting to be shot. They would soon take the place of the man in the white shirt. Like a production line, they would be next. The painting is lit by a dazzling light from a lantern, more like a modern day electric spot light, but before the discovery of electricity. The firing squad unlike their victims are faceless, lined up with identical postures locked together, like relentless and mindless machines. The executioners always cover their faces. The Shootings of 3rd May 1808 – Victims

A Glorious insurrection or the terror of war. “to paint and thus immortalise some of the brave deeds … and acts of heroism during our glorious insurrection …”. Goya. Prior to Goya, paintings depicting war were frequently used to commemorate victories or to glorify heroic deeds or even to honour God. Goya was the first to paint the true horror of war. He painted the victims close-up with expressions clearly visible. Goya seems to have failed to portray the heroism and the glorious insurrection of May 1808. But instead succeeded as a humanist in giving us images of cruelty and the terror of war. Thus leading the way in which wars were reported in the following centuries. The Terror of war

A Glorious insurrection or the terror of war. “to paint and thus immortalise some of the brave deeds … and acts of heroism during our glorious insurrection …”. Goya. Prior to Goya, paintings depicting war were frequently used to commemorate victories or to glorify heroic deeds or even to honour God. Goya was the first to paint the true horror of war. He painted the victims close-up with expressions clearly visible. Goya seems to have failed to portray the heroism and the glorious insurrection of May 1808. But instead succeeded as a humanist in giving us images of cruelty and the terror of war. Thus leading the way in which wars were reported in the following centuries. Goya did a series of engravings on the brutality of May 1808. He did the above print in c1810, called ‘One cannot bear to see this’. The Terror of war

A Glorious insurrection or the terror of war. “to paint and thus immortalise some of the brave deeds … and acts of heroism during our glorious insurrection …”. Goya. Prior to Goya, paintings depicting war were frequently used to commemorate victories or to glorify heroic deeds or even to honour God. Goya was the first to paint the true horror of war. He painted the victims close-up with expressions clearly visible. Goya seems to have failed to portray the heroism and the glorious insurrection of May 1808. But instead succeeded as a humanist in giving us images of cruelty and the terror of war. Thus leading the way in which wars were reported in the following centuries. Goya did a series of engravings on the brutality of May 1808. He did the above print in c1810, called ‘One cannot bear to see this’. On the companion painting, of The Second of May 1808, Goya did not use a single focal point. Instead there are several scenes, emphasizing the ‘mob action’ of the insurrection. The Marmelukes (French Egyptian soldiers) and cavalry were butchered. It does not appeared to me to be particularly heroic. The Terror of war

The 2nd of May 1808. The Charge of the Mamelukes

Followers of the Painting On the right is a painting by Pablo Picasso, another Spaniard. It is called Massacre in Korea (1951). The painting on the left is by Edouard Manet, painted in 1867. It is called ‘Execution of Emperor Maximilian’, after Goya’s Third of May 1808. It does not show the horror of war, rather it shows the broken promise of French Emperor Napoleon III to Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, when the French withdrew their military support to Mexico in 1867. Just one version of the painting survived intact, such was the political sensitivity. A cut-up version hangs in the National Gallery, London. Execution of Emperor Maximilian. Edouard Manet. Manheim Kunsthalle. Germany. Followers of the painting

Modern day war photography Are these photos following the tradition of Goya’s ‘Third of May 1808’ ? The photo on the left is composed like that of Goya’s ‘Third of May 1808’. Does it shows the horror of war as well? Note that the firing squad stood further away than the soldiers in the paintings of Goya, Manet or Picasso. On the right is a famous photo of an execution in the Vietnam war. Look at the expression of the victim. Do you think this is photo has an anti-war message? What does it says about war? Modern day war - Photography

The Shootings of 3rd May 1808