Goya's Disasters Of War

Francisco de Goya's series, the Disasters of War, remains one of the strongest accusations against the horrors and tragedies of war to date. Reflecting the suffocating atmosphere of violence that surrounded Spain at the time, Disasters of War attacks the senselessness of war itself and makes a desperate appeal to all that is good in man. Although sources are unanimous in asserting that Goya was not physically in the midst of any actual violence, Goya acts as a witness to the series insofar as he was subjected to and deeply aware of the current violent events that characterized Spain during the Peninsular War. Disasters of War should be considered the true ancestor to all great visual war reporting because, like a new photographer, Goya successfully captured events of war in the instant they were committed, making visible what is often too difficult to capture with words. Goya's war does not appear noble or heroic like the majority of nineteenth century war depictions. Rather, it is full of killing, famine, and rape, confronting viewers with images similar to those seen in contemporary war documentaries.

Hostility between French troops and Spanish citizens increased violently between 1807 and 1808 leading up to the outbreak of the Peninsular War. During this time Goya remained in Madrid, continuing to serve as court painter to the Spanish Monarchy under Ferdinand VII. It was not until October of 1808, when the Napoleonic troops began their assault on the area of Saragossa and Fuendetodos, that the painter saw cause to become involved in the war. Fuendetodos, the city where Goya was born, had always remained close to the painter's heart and when he was invited to sketch the atrocities occurring in the region he accepted and began the journey from Madrid. Traveling through the Spanish countryside allowed Goya to see the horrors of warfare as they were being executed and upon reaching Fuendetodos in October, the painter was rightly appalled by the acts of violence destroying Spain. Spanish forces in Fuendetodos held out for seven heroic weeks against the Napoleonic troops, but eventually succumbed to the French and surrendered. Goya undoubtedly witnessed atrocities beyond description as the city lay in ruins Ð'- churches collapsed, corpses overflowing the streets, the stench of death overpowering the air.

It was here in Fuendetodos that Goya was believed to have begun to sketch the Disasters of War , rediscovering his creativity through the suffering of his country. Retuning to Madrid in December 1808, Goya continued to submit to the rule imposed by the French, yet did not allow his spirit to be vanquished. In January of 1809, Joseph Bonaparte was instated as the new ruler of Spain and Goya, as official court painter, declared his loyalty to the new leader. Goya began to work under the new regime of King Joseph I, but became continuously withdrawn from the public sphere and devoted the majority of his energy to the atrocities he was witnessing in Spain - images of war, famine, and rape.

No better example exists of the inner turmoil consuming Goya than the comparison of iconography and themes from the commissioned Allegory of the City of Madrid to the Disasters of War series. Allegory of the City of Madrid was commissioned by King Joseph in February 1810 and represents the honor and traditions of Spain in their continuance under the Napoleonic Empire. The painting relies on academic stylistic elements to depict classically modeled figures of tradition allegory. The image is joyful and lighthearted, the subject matter glowing with illumination. Goya took great pains in creating this painting, regarding the commission as an obvious denial to the real state of Spain. The pressure to continue a normal lifestyle, despite living in a country torn by war, began to take its toll on Goya and reserves of indignation and revolt piled up inside the artist, turning into passion on the edge of explosion. Goya began to become obsessed with reality and images of death, darkness, and hopelessness. The only outlet for these obsessive emotions was art. Thus the Disasters of War were created.

Disasters of War consists of eighty Ð'- two individual prints, each six by eight inches oblong format. The etchings, carved into copper plates and filled with black ink, were constructed in the lavis method , a technique new to Spain and Europe, consequently serving as the foundation to contemporary European printmaking. Created between 1810 Ð'- 1820, the series is divided into four parts: one introductory print, forty Ð'- six prints portraying the horrors of war, seventeen prints depicting scenes of famine, and sixteen concluding prints titled Ð''Caprichos Enfatics'. Goya originally titled the series Fatal Consequences of the Bloody War in Spain with Bonaparte and Other Emphatic Caprices, but was changed by the Royal Academy of San Fernando to Disasters of War when the series was first published in 1863.

Disasters of War was not published during Goya's lifetime, and it is not known for certain if the series was ever truly intended to be viewed by the general public. The engravings were collected by Cean Bermudez, a close friend and confidant of Goya's, in 1820, who then added titles to the prints based on Goya's notes. The plates remained in Bermudez's ownership until they were acquired by the Academy of San Fernando in 1862 and published the following year. Very little is known about Goya's objectives in creating Disasters of War, although his use of etchings is particularly interesting. Goya understood the distribution possibilities of etchings and knew that a much wider audience could be reached through this medium, leading many sources to argue that Goya intended for the series to be viewed by the public. Other sources, however; argue that Goya did not formally organize the prints because he had no desire to publish the series. Rather, he created them as an act of fruitless labor, destined to be destroyed. While Goya's true intentions for the series will never be known, the Disasters of WarÐ''s capacity to influence and move its viewers is unquestionable.

Disasters of War contains little figural expression, and abstains from references to contemporary events entirely. Goya exploits anonymity in his figures in an effort to attach a greater weight to reason rather than emotion. He refrains from concrete descriptions of battlegrounds, specific cities, and identifiable landscapes to construct images that transcend a particular event, thus creating universal depictions of war and torture. The images depict war in human rather than simply patriotic terms, representing an unprejudiced view of war. Goya's hatred of war is aimed at not just the enemy, but at mankind in general. Disasters of War attacks