Plate 55 from "The Disasters of War" (Los Desastres de la Guerra): 'The worst is to beg' (Lo peor es pedir)
Original title: Plate 55 from "The Disasters of War" (Los Desastres de la Guerra): 'The worst is to beg' (Lo peor es pedir)
kurzbeschreibung
From 1811–12 comes plate 55 of Goya's etching series "The Disasters of War," which was not published until 1863. A group of people appears in a bare, joyless landscape shaped by poverty and deprivation. In the foreground, a sick or injured person lies on the ground and is tended by someone; beside them, a figure squats with a child on their lap. The image is executed as an etching with lavis and burnisher.
Description
A crowd gathers in a desolate, remote area. In the foreground, someone lies on the ground, evidently ill or wounded, and is cared for by a person wearing a headscarf. A third figure sits nearby, a child in their lap, while further back a standing figure looks down at the one lying prone. Greys and blacks dominate; the light remains subdued, making the bleakness palpable. Etching and hatching produce delicate lines and gradations, while the burnisher adds a few shining accents to the surface.
Context
Between 1810 and 1820, Goya created his etching series "The Disasters of War," a response to the Napoleonic Wars in Spain and the restoration that followed. Plate 55 belongs with those prints that depict the fate of civilians after the war, especially hunger and hardship. The series was published only in 1863, long after Goya's death, by the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid. During the years of its creation, Spain suffered from war, political turmoil, and economic distress.
Impact
The muted palette and subdued light evoke an oppressive mood that makes the misery of those depicted directly felt. The way the person on the ground is surrounded by the others conveys a quiet, insistent helplessness that challenges the viewer without tipping into pathos.
Technique
The plate was made as an etching, supplemented by lavis, a kind of ink wash, and the burnisher. The delicate lines and soft lavis shading create a painterly impression, while the burnisher brings out bright, shining areas. This interplay yields a graduated rendering of light and darkness that supports the sombre mood.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)