The Disasters of War

by Francisco de Goya, Philip Hofer (Introduction)

The strikingly original characterizations and sharply drawn scenes that came to be known posthumously as Los Desastres de la Guerra (The Disasters of War) are among Francisco Goya's most powerful works and one of the masterpieces of Western civilization. Goya's model for his visual indictment of war and its horrors was the Spanish insurrection of 1808 and the resulting Peninsular War with Napoleonic France. The bloody conflict and the horrible famine of Madrid were witnessed by Goya himself, or were revealed to him from the accounts of friends and contemporaries. From 1810 to 1820, he worked to immortalize them in a series of etchings.
The artist himself never saw the results. The etchings were not published until 1863, some 35 years after his death. By then, the passions of the Napoleonic era had subsided and the satirical implications in Goya's work were less likely to offend. The Dover edition reproduces in its original size the second state of this first edition, which contained 80 prints. Three additional prints not in the 1863 edition are also included here, making this the most complete collection possible of the etchings Goya intended for this series. The bitter, biting captions are reprinted, along with the new English translations, as are the original title page and preface.

Genres: Art, History, Nonfiction, War, Art History, Spain, School

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1863

About the author

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was an Aragonese Spanish painter and printmaker. Goya was a court painter to the Spanish Crown and a chronicler of history. He has been regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and as the first of the moderns. The subversive and subjective element in his art, as well as his bold handling of paint, provided a model for the work of later generations of artists, notably Manet and Picasso.

Reviews

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

These drawings of scenes from the 1808 insurrection in Spain against the French puppet king are not entertaining or beautiful. They depict the horrors of war so graphically the reader could suspect them to be exaggerated but knows they are not. The horror is offset somewhat by the ironic captions under each picture--"They do not agree!" "The way is hard!" "It is no use shouting." These understatements enhance the horror of the pictures. Coupled with a collection of Goya's regular art, these pictures, these pictures show the wide extent of his ability and thought.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is one of the most stark, direct, and brutal depictions of war I’ve ever seen, in either verbal or visual media. These etchings have the haunting suspension of movement and the “lost moment in time” feeling one finds in great photography, but with the emotional aura of renderings that have the direct touch of the artist. One gets the feeling that Goya was there, experiencing these horrors and recording them like a modern photojournalist. The captions (whether written by Goya or an acquaintance) are simple, direct commentaries that are as hard-hitting as the etchings. Goya depicts the meaningless slaughter of war and casual inhumanity of those who hurt and exploit others without thought or question. We see murder, rape, dismemberment, execution, theft, and starvation. We see the innocent turned into killers or helpless victims, with no choice in the matter either way. We see the absurd bestial nature of man and the whole pointless waste of it all. This was a hell of an experience -- a slow, quiet, somber journey into the dark heart of humanity’s self-inflicted suffering. A must-read book.

[Rex Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brutal collection of sketches from the 1808 insurrection in Spain against the French installed puppet king, but was not published until 35 years after the author's death. These are brutal and fascinating depictions of the reality of war, showing the suffering of the common people and the terrible conditions that war brings to a region. They are heroic at times, but mostly heartbreaking. A stark reminder of the reality of conflicts. Perhaps that is why they were never published in the author's lifetime.

[Paul Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulously gruesome. they prefigure the Hnry Moore images of the traumatised victims of the Blitz hiding, in fear, in the London subways.

[tabitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The paintings truly show the horror of war, it’s a good and quite a short read. It tells a tragic story through art, 10/10.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed reproductions of Goya’s Los Desastres de la Guerra. Essential.

[Jolie · Rating 5 out of 5]

evergreen and perfectly unsettling

[Benjamin Britton · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The forms remain more or less detached and only exist in so far as they express violence, a harsh fantasy without precedent in the history of painting. The new spirit manifested itself in all kinds of compositions and his themes tended to be mysterious, not only in the figures represented, but also in the relationship between the apparent significance and the hidden meaning which we believe them to conceal."
-Xavier De Salas

"He is undoubtedly the greatest visionary of the real who has ever existed…

One cannot deny that he enjoys the spectacle of rape, that his righteous anger is mingled with and perhaps even augmented by sensuality…

Goya describes nothing and evokes everything, but his secret symbolism is nevertheless consistent, though perhaps involuntary…

He thus succeeds in conjuring up I know not what permanent army of sadists and executioners, and in a way enhances the terror and frightfulness of the drama. This is only one feature in the complexity of these sinister works, inspired by a spiritual flame so ardent that it is impossible to translate its essence into words for those who have not examines them time after time. There are other features of this kind, this summary landscape, for instance, made up of barely sketched indications, sometimes almost abstract- but for this reason endowing the eternal tragedy- but for this reason endowing the eternal tragedy with still more terrifying atmosphere, independent of time and almost independent of place. Black and white do the rest, with their very monotony, symbolizing unconsciously the alternatives of hope and despair to which mankind is forever subjected.
-Elie Faure

[Ana-Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heartbreaking.

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A show of these prints just came down recently. The images were never printed in Goya's life, but are some of his best and most poignantly startling he ever made. The beauty of the technique and composition juxtaposed against the disgust of the image makes them extremely powerful.
They are also shockingly relevant to the world events of today.

[Nathan Bernacet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Spanish printmaker, Goya presents true images in macabre detail. Realism in the truest sense of the word.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crushingly brutal depictions.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haunting.

[Eugene Goodale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inexpensive reference book for one of the most horrifying looks at the effects of war and mans inhumanity.

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short Concise Introduction. Good Graphics. Well Done. Disturbing Subject Matter

[Noah Soudrette · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent, cheap, copy of Of Goya's masterpiece series of carvings.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic series of etchings. Merciless.

[David Lewane · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most beautiful work of etchings of all time.

[Taube · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutal. The stuff of your worst nightmares.