Executions of the Third of May, Francisco de Goya, Size: 8 ft 9 in X 13 ft 4 in, Date: 1808, Museum: Museo del Prado, Madrid. 
The painting Executions of the Third of May depicts a scene of soldiers holding rifles to their shoulders in attempt to kill French soldiers during the invasion of Spain by Napoleon. A lantern spreads bright, yellow fire glowing light on the French soldiers under surrender, a couple who have been shot and one guy who has his hands extended out above his head in gesture of crucifixion, such as god might have done, a symbol of giving up, a symbol of surrender. In the background, a deserted hillside and Madrid can barely be seen through the darkness. Francisco uses warm or primary colors of red, yellow and white. He uses these colors to direct our attention to the fire lit lantern or the focal point, that is beaming rays of exhilarant light on the French soldiers, particularly the one soldier with his arms in the air, he applies emphasis and subordination to draw our eyes towards the main focal point of the painting. He also uses emphasis in his horizontal lines he uses, in the way the rifles are pointed directly towards the focal point or the French soldiers.
Francisco de Goya was a romantic painter and printmaker but also painted pictures for French patrons and sympathizers, but his involvement with the Peninsular War or invasion of Spain by Napoleon is unknown. He shows us sympathy through the emphasis of the warm colors he possesses on the French soldiers showing them under surrender in the Peninsular War of 1808. I think he wanted to remind people that the violence and the war can be ultimately gruesome and many people lost their lives fighting for their country, religion and beliefs such as the man with his hands in the air, showing us a gesture of crucifixion, such as he had given up and is tired of violence.
Napoleon Bonaparte’s rampage across Spain is shown in all its brutality, and these representations have come to symbolize war in general. According to senior Curator Klaus Biesenbach, the scenes in the etchings were so shocking that they were suppressed for two generations.
Title: The Disasters of War
Author: Mark Swartz
Source: MOMA, Vol. 4, No. 1(2001), pp. 10-13.
