Why?, plate 32 from The Disasters of War Possibly 1812 - 1863

Curator: Good morning. Here we have a harrowing piece: plate 32 from Francisco de Goya's series, "The Disasters of War", possibly created between 1812 and 1863. It’s entitled “Why?” and is an etching and drypoint print on paper. Editor: It's incredibly stark. Just raw terror radiating from that central figure. It’s as if Goya ripped this image straight from a nightmare. You almost feel the injustice as a gut punch, don't you think? Curator: Absolutely. This image belongs to a series of eighty-two prints created as a visual protest against the atrocities of the Napoleonic occupation of Spain and the subsequent Peninsular War. These weren't commissioned works; Goya was bearing witness. Editor: It gets under your skin, doesn’t it? The way he renders the soldiers with such detached expressions, like automatons of cruelty, juxtaposed with the raw agony of the man being hanged... It’s chilling. And look how the stark contrasts create this intense, unsettling atmosphere. Like the scream is visualized. Curator: Indeed. Consider that Goya was working during a time of great upheaval. These prints were not widely circulated during his lifetime due to their political nature. They served as a private condemnation of the violence and inhumanity he witnessed. Editor: It's the unspoken, isn’t it? The loaded question in the title "Why?". Why this cruelty? Why this suffering? And Goya offers no easy answers. He just throws us right into the middle of this horror and demands that we look, demands that we grapple with it. It feels so modern in its cynicism and directness. It seems that not much has changed over the centuries. The powerful oppressing those without. What a testament to the pain of our existence. Curator: Exactly. "The Disasters of War" serves as a powerful indictment of the brutal realities of armed conflict, highlighting the suffering of civilians and challenging romanticized notions of war. They are timeless, universal expressions of trauma and inhumanity. Editor: A searing piece. Hard to forget it, isn't it? Something like this really makes you stop and ponder… what kind of a species are we really? Curator: It is a question art continues to ask, even today. Thank you for joining me today as we reflect on the art of Francisco de Goya.