Francisco Jose De Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828)

The Disasters of War, also known as Los Desastres de la Guerra, is a famous series of 85 etchings and engravings created by the Spanish Romantic artist Francisco Goya. The album was produced between 1810 and 1820. According to researchers, the series was created as a protest against the actions of both the Spanish and French governments during military conflicts in the Pyrenees during that period. The war with Napoleonic troops quickly turned into what is known as guerrilla warfare, or partisan warfare. This is the subject of most of the etchings in the series.

The artists seminal work not only harshly criticized the highest political figures of both countries but also challenged the traditions of painting during the Romantic era: instead of glorifying heroism and feats on the battlefield, as was customary before him, Francisco Goya turned to the ugly reality of war: famine, deprivation, violence, and suffering of ordinary people. He deliberately abandoned the use of color, creating the engravings in somber black-and-white tones. By the standards of that time, the etchings were considered so scandalous that they were not published until 35 years after the artists death. The artist himself never commented on his work, either in correspondence or in personal writings: the only words he left about this series were a brief description written directly on the album and small inscriptions left by the master under each etching.

Art historians conventionally divide the series into three separate parts, depending on the time of creation: the first part includes individual scenes of military operations and the consequences of war in the lives of soldiers and civilians; the second part depicts Madrid in 1811, showing the hardships and famine that engulfed the city; and the final part harshly criticizes the government and ideological liberals in events caused by the repeal of the Spanish Constitution of 1812.

I saw it! – these are the inscriptions Francisco left under the engravings, and in these short headings, the author literally shouts to the viewer. It is impossible not to see this! Each etching is incredibly realistic, resembling black-and-white photographs from war chronicles. Scenes depicting the execution of rebels, dying people, carts with corpses, and soldiers raping women are as if ripped from Goyas memory and burned onto paper. The engravings are full of contrast and movement, united by the dynamism of the narrative: each sheet logically continues the previous one. Nevertheless, despite the harsh and concise inscriptions such as It was like this, the artists intention is not to create a documentary chronicle but to convey a humanistic and anti-war message. Rare glimpses of admiration for heroism and resilience are also present in the series. In The Disasters of War, on a sheet signed What courage! the feat of Maria Agustina, a young heroine of Zaragoza, Goyas hometown, is depicted, while in the engravings dedicated to famine in Madrid, the tragic depiction of mutual aid among people experiencing hardships is a frequent theme, even in times of hardship, they are ready to lend each other a helping hand.