Two brothers killing their sister’s lover in her presence 1796 - 1798

Editor: This drawing by Goya, from between 1796 and 1798, is rendered in pen, ink, and wash on paper. The composition feels frantic, depicting what appears to be a violent scene. What strikes you when you look at this work? Curator: For me, it’s all about the materials and the process that created this disturbing narrative. Goya uses readily available, inexpensive materials—pen, ink, paper—to depict the raw brutality of the scene. Look closely; the pen strokes are quick and gestural. These frenzied lines almost act as a kind of indictment of the social forces and expectations at play. The ease and immediacy of the medium become essential to communicating such urgency and emotional violence. How do the constraints of the materials reflect societal constraints here? Editor: So, the work’s impact lies, at least in part, with the unadorned nature of its creation? Curator: Precisely. Goya isn’t using opulent paints or precious metals. He is using everyday materials, making the scene more immediate, visceral, and connected to a lived, working-class reality. Do you see the inscription below? It connects us to the act, even as it foreshadows an act of death. Editor: Absolutely. Seeing how Goya utilized such modest materials to convey this brutal event makes me reconsider art's relationship to labor and access, not just its aesthetic value. Curator: Exactly. By stripping away artifice, Goya brings us closer to the social reality, laying bare the materiality of both the image and the grim subject it represents. It forces us to ask: what power dynamics are inherent, here? Editor: That’s a powerful takeaway, thinking about how materials themselves can become a form of social commentary.