Francisco Goya The Third Of May

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We see a row of French soldiers aiming their guns at a Spanish man, who stretches out his arms in submission both to the men and to his fate. A hill behind him takes the place of an “executioner’s wall”an example of shape is used here. A pile of dead bodies lies at his feet, streaming blood. To his other side, a line of Spanish rebels stretches into the landscape. They cover their eyes to avoid watching the death that awaits them. The city and civilization are far behind them.

Francisco Goya, The Third of May, 1808 in Madrid, 1808, 1814-15, oil on canvas,(Museo del Prado, Madrid)

Goya’s painting has been hailed for its brilliant transformation of Christian representation and its agonizing portrayal of man’s savagery to man. The central figure

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