Francisco Goya's "The Third of May", 1814.

              Francisco Goya’s 1814 painting The Third of May depicts a French firing squad all pointing their guns at one man. The painting honors the Spanish resistance during the Napoleon’s occupation in Spain. The catalyst for the Third of May was that Napoleon used military force to ensure his brother the Spanish crown. On May Second 1808 the Spanish rose up to fight the French by killing 150 French troops; however, the French fought back killing thousands of Spaniards. The Third of May was the very brutal beginning to Peninsular War. The war went of for five years, finally ending with no clear victory (PBS).

              Stylistically, this painting is very simple; however, Goya’s use of light and dark gives the painting depth. The Spaniards are in the light and the French are in relative darkness; giving the viewer a difference between those whom Goya believes are the good, and those whom he believes are bad. In the light there are numerous unarmed, vulnerable men. The main focus is on a man wearing the only bright colors in the painting, holding his hands up and looking completely defenseless. Behind him there are two figures, who are almost translucent perhaps symbolizing they have already been killed by the French. To the man in the bright shirt’s right there are three figures who are bloody and dying on the ground. These details make there distinction between good and bad, the Spaniards versus the French. This painting does not over-romanticize the third of May 1808 because the vast difference between the French casualties and the Spanish. Goya successfully portrayed the dismal mood of the third of May 1808, when the Peninsular War began (Gray).

              This painting portrays Napoleon’s abuse of his power because the Peninsular War began for selfish reasons. In 1807 when Spain started to question their alliance with France, Napoleon saw it as a threat to his power and decided to add Spain to his empire. He gave his brother the crown, and called himself the “liberator” of Spain. Napoleon was completely ignorant that Spain was not in need of a liberator and didn’t want one because he was blinded by his own abuse of power. As a result, Spain tried to overpower Napoleon, but that started a long, brutal war. The Third of May reveals the great travesty that Napoleon started for selfish reasons (PBS). All the rulers whose rule effect the artwork in the blog have the same ideals as Napoleon, they do whatever they can to gain and maintain power at the expense of their people.