Plate 17: They do not agree (No se convienen), from "The Disasters of War" (Los Desastres de la Guerra)
Original title: Plate 17: They do not agree (No se convienen), from "The Disasters of War" (Los Desastres de la Guerra)
kurzbeschreibung
A rider with raised weapon, several figures lying on the ground at his feet — some shot, some wounded — this is Plate 17 from Francisco de Goya's series 'Los Desastres de la Guerra'. The etching, made around 1810, combines drypoint, burin, and burnisher on paper, and belongs to the group of works in which Goya recorded the violence of war.
Description
A mounted man dominates the foreground, holding a weapon aloft and appearing to be in violent motion. Around the horse, people lie on the ground, some motionless, others visibly injured. Further back, more figures emerge, merging into the throng. Gray tones without color govern the entire sheet, and the light remains indistinct and flat. Goya's realistic approach combines with drastic emphases that give the motif its force.
Context
'No se convienen' is the title of this seventeenth plate, and it points to the disagreement among the combatants. The series 'The Disasters of War' arose in the context of the Spanish War of Independence from 1808 to 1814, when Spain rose against Napoleonic occupation. Goya processed events he had witnessed himself. The present example is a proof impression, suggesting an early state of the plate.
Impact
Anyone looking at this sheet is immediately drawn into the crush of battle. The rider towering above the fallen heightens the tension between above and below. The absence of color and the unclear light leave little room for hope. The scene does not narrate; it feels like a captured moment of distress.
Technique
Etching, drypoint, burin, and burnisher all came together in working the plate. Their interplay allows both delicate lines and strong shading. The proof impression reveals how carefully Goya worked the plate: contours stand out sharply, and the gradations of gray are nuanced. The result is a finely tuned rendering of light and dark that carries the mood of the sheet.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)