Plate 56, To the cemetery (Al cementerio), from "The Disasters of War" (Los Desastres de la Guerra)
Original title: Plate 56, To the cemetery (Al cementerio), from "The Disasters of War" (Los Desastres de la Guerra)
kurzbeschreibung
Francisco de Goya y Lucientes devotes plate 56 of his etching series 'The Disasters of War' (1810–11) to a grim cemetery episode. Executed in etching, lavis, and drypoint, the image gathers several figures in a dark setting. Two men in the foreground grapple with each other, while behind them a wounded woman has fallen to the ground.
Description
At the front, two men fight fiercely: the standing figure on the left seizes the other's arm, who twists away defensively. Behind them lies a woman, evidently injured, with another man crouching beside her. The clothing points to a bygone era. Sharp contrasts and expressive shading drive the force of the encounter. Black and white dominate, with murky light deepening the somber mood.
Context
Between 1810 and 1820, Goya created his series 'The Disasters of War' as a response to the Napoleonic wars in Spain and their aftermath. Only in 1863, 35 years after the artist's death, were the etchings published in print. Plate 56 belongs to the second group of the series, which deals with the effects of the famine in Madrid (1811–1812). To show violence and suffering in everyday scenes so directly and unvarnished was unusual for the art of that time.
Impact
Both oppression and fascination emanate from this etching, which vividly portrays conflict and despair. Strong chiaroscuro and a dynamic arrangement immediately draw the eye to the emotional tension. Without explicit moral judgment, the viewer is confronted with the brutality of war in civilian space.
Technique
Etching, refined with lavis and drypoint, forms the basis of this print. The etching process allows fine lines and hatching, while lavis creates soft tonal gradations and dramatic shadows. Drypoint adds slightly raised strokes, giving the subject an immediate, sketch-like quality.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)