Bitter Presence 18th-19th century

Editor: This is Goya’s print, "Bitter Presence." The scene is really quite chilling. What do you read into this image? Curator: I see a world devoured by conflict, where figures huddle in a shadowy realm. The aquatint technique casts an eerie glow, a fitting echo of the ‘bitter presence’ of human cruelty, don't you think? Editor: Absolutely. I’d say that Goya forces us to confront uncomfortable truths about ourselves. Curator: Yes, art is a mirror reflecting back our own shadows, inviting us to question, to feel, to understand the full spectrum of the human condition. I think Goya accomplished that here.