Essay on Goya Truth and War - 1133 Words

nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; GOYA: Truth and War On May 2nd 1808 the people of Madrid revolted against the French troops occupying their city. The following day the French retaliated. In the remembrance of this event Francisco de Goya painted The Third of May. The horrific scene takes place at night on a deserted hillside. The feeling of horror is conveyed by the churoscuro use of lighting. Painted with intense emotional expression the Spaniards stand before there deaths. The soldiers before them lined up with guns in hand and ready to fire. The Spaniard facial expression and body language differ†¦show more content†¦This was an idea he used in many of his works, for Goya himself was a conflicted man. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; After 1808 Spain was occupied by Napoleonic forces and Goya witnessed first hand accounts of murder, rape, pillaging, and mutilation. He quietly recorded these events until Napoleons demise in 1814. During this 6 year period the brutalities and miseries of war that had occurred effected the lives of every Spaniard as well as the art of Goya. After the demise of Napoleon, Goya saw a chance to create a permanent remembrance of this time period. The results were two large paintings recording May 2nd 1808 and May 3rd 1808 when the French shot suspected Spaniards without trial. Much like Gerricault’s The Raft of Medusa, The Third of May portrays brutal human tragedy. These two paintings tell stories of heroism turned to horrific tragedy with scenes so close that the viewer is forced into the event. In-humanity has now become human. Heroism and suffering now seem equally desperate and pathetic. Although these two paintings are scenes of tragedy, Goya’s painting correlates more directly to war. He conveys war in its most brutal form giving the soldiers a machine like quality. They are lined up in almost identical positioning and attire. Each soldier is in the same tense stance, gripping his rifle as if it were a part of his body, anticipating the recoil of the shots to come. The line of the soldiers, as well asShow MoreRelatedArt History-El Greco4248 Words   |  17 Pagesregarded as among the most important manifestations of the unique Spanish spirit. Whatever the merits of Cossio’s interpretation of El Greco’s genius, it soon acquired the status of doctrine, especially in Spain, where the event of the Spanish-American war of 1898, which cost Spain the last vestiges of her overseas empire, helped to promote this idea. The realization that the days of glory were truly at an end, that the country was no little more than a poor, scientifically backward, powerless EuropeanRead MoreThe Art Scab George Grosz, Berlin Dada, and the Spartacus League5684 Words   |  23 PagesThe Art Scab George Grosz, Berlin Dada, and the Spartacus League I. Introduction A. Topic During post World War I Germany, the Weimar Republic was established as bourgeois capitalistic democracy. However, the period was plagued with income inequality, corruption, and authoritarianism. At the start of this period, the German Revolution spread around the country. In Berlin, the Spartacus League, founded as a communist alternative to the Socialist Democrats of Germany party, was pushing forRead MoreMSG: The Risky Taste Essay2483 Words   |  10 Pagesas where it came from. America first used MSG in the late 1940s. Although great effort was spent to introduce it to the country, hardly anything was accomplished prior to World War II. Despite this lack of accomplishment, its use was first noticed in the food rations of Japanese soldiers during the war. Sometime after the war, a meeting in Chicago was held by the Armed Forces Chief Quartermaster, for the purpose of introducing MSG to United States food industries. Before the year 1958, the FDA didntRead MoreGreek Mythology8088 Words   |  33 Pages  set  of  diverse  traditional  tales  told  by  the  ancient  Greeks  about  the  exploits  of  gods   and  heroes  and  their  relations  with  ordinary  mortals.   The  ancient  Greeks  worshiped  many  gods  within  a  culture  that  tolerated  diversity.  Unlike  other  belief   systems,  Greek  culture  recognized  no  single  truth  or  code  and  produced  no  sacred,  written  text  like   the  Bible  or  the  Qur’an.  Stories  about  the  origins  and  actions  of  Greek  divinities  varied  widely,   depending,  for  example,  on  whether  the  tale  appeared  in  a  comedy,  tragedy,  or  epic  poem.  Greek   mythology  was  like  a  complex  and  rich  language