Monstrosity in European Art: A reflection on the role of Monstrosity in 19th century paintings

The Third of May (1808)

         The Third of May is one of Goya’s most stunning early paintings, which commemorated the events of may 2nd and 3rd 1808 where thousands of Spanish freedom fighters died by the hands of the French. This painting is stunning for its composition, new interpretations of heroism in battle, or lack thereof, and christian imagery. First, Goya’s brutal depiction of war contrasted from the idealized portrait that earlier art pieces showed. Second, The man in the white shirt is the center of the photo and wears the same colors of light as the lamp shown next to the soldiers; he is taking the place of crucified Christ in the painting and can even be seen having stigmata on his hands. His eyes also express a catholic anguish which is as if hes asking for the forgiveness of the sins of those attacking him. The Third of May and its sister painting The Second of May have been heralded as some of the greatest art pieces of all time, and the expressiveness of every character in the painting truly lives up to that title.
          This painting has a similar situation to that posed by The Raft of the Medusa years later. While the soldiers are the ones firing the guns, Goya is historically pointing blame towards the french monarchy who made the decision to betray and massacre the Spanish. The brutal nature of war exposed here is also another form of monstrosity. Goya also had a series of drawings known as “The Disasters of War” which detailed out the horrors of war which had previously been underrepresented in the public eye. The monstrous nature of war Itself is not a subject we covered much in class, but artists like Goya and later Picasso embraced its cruelty and monstrosity to great effect. The Third of May is one of the first of Goya’s interrogative and challenging pieces which reached their culmination in his “black paintings”.
 

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