Analysis of "The 3rd of May, 1808" by Francisco de Goya: A class project following the theme "Life & Times affect on artists and their artwork."

1. How Did the Life and Times
of Francisco de Goya
Affect “The 3rd of May, 1808?”
• Jose
• Chris
• Victoria
• Andrea
• David
• Jesse
• Priscilla
• Roland
• Vanessa
• Preston
• Ryan
• Marcus
• Gregory
• Genesis
• Amber
• Richard
• Margarito
• Tiffany
• Mario
• Cassie
• Samantha
• B.K. Hafner

2. “The Third of May, 1808 ”
by Francisco Jose Goya y Lucientes
“The Third of May, 1808: The Execution of the Defenders of Madrid. 1814.”
Oil on canvas, 266 x 345 cm. Museo del Prado, (Olga’s Gallery). Madrid, Spain.
http://www.abcgallery.com/G/goya/goya70.html

3. Biography:
Francisco Jose Goya
y Lucientes
(1746-1828)
Goya was born poor in a poor country,
Spain. He became a court painter to
good King Charles III and painted
portraits of many of the important
people of his time. This was a time of
relative prosperity and enlightenment in
Spain. When stupid King Charles IV
and horrible Queen Maria Luisa came
into power, Spain became very corrupt and repressive. Goya
was then the most fashionable and successful artist in Spain,
Francisco de Goya. “Self-
Portrait with Dr. Arrieta,
1820.” Oil on canvas, 117 x 79
cm. The Minneapolis Institute
of Arts, (Olga’s Gallery).
Minneapolis, MN
http://www.abcgallery.com/G/goya/goy
a75.html

4. but he was not happy. Goya hated tyranny. He did not
respect the Royal Family and his paintings clearly
showed it. The Royal Family, however, was too vain
and stupid to realize that Goya was making fun of them.
A serious illness left Goya deaf and bitter. He became
obsessed with painting the cruelty he saw all around
him in everyday life. The French brought even more
suffering to the Spanish people. After the French were
driven out of Spain, the Spanish government became so
oppressive that Goya withdrew to a house outside
Madrid where he painted "the Black Paintings." They
contained some of the most haunting and frightening
creatures ever created. Goya ended his life in exile in
France.

5. Francisco de Goya. “Charles IV and His Family, 1800.”
Oil on canvas. Museo del Prado, (Olga’s Gallery).
Madrid, Spain. http://www.abcgallery.com/G/goya/goya108.html
In this famous
painting of the
Royal Family by
Goya, King
Charles IV looks
retarded, and
Queen Maria Luisa
looks like a tyrant.
Goya also painted
himself in this
picture.
Can you
find him?

6. The Story:
After Napoleon conquered Spain, he put his brother
Joseph in charge. The monarchy in Spain had been very
repressive, so at first the Spanish people were hopeful.
However, Joseph was not a wise leader. Spanish patriots
fought a long guerilla war to rid their country of
Napoleon's army. On May 2, 1808, Spanish guerillas
went on a rampage against Napoleon's invading forces.
The next day, Napoleon's troops rounded up all the men
who were on the streets of Madrid and executed them
immediately. 5,000 men were killed. Napoleon's troops
did not bother to find out whether or not the men they
executed were guerillas. Goya was a witness to this event.
He was also a witness to the famine, hardship, and
guerilla tactics that the war brought.

7. The Spanish government commissioned Goya to make this
painting in 1814. For the Spanish people, it is their greatest
symbol of independence and of the defense of liberty. For the
world, it has become a universal statement about war and its
consequences.
This painting did
not glorify war.
Instead it showed
the reality and
brutality of war.
Never before had
a painting been so
honest about the
consequences of
war.

8. Francisco de Goya. “The Second of May, 1808 at the
Puerta del Sol, 1814.” Oil on canvas. 266 x 345 cm. Museo
del Prado, (Olga’s Gallery). Madrid, Spain.
http://www.abcgallery.com/G/goya/goya21.html
This painting was
also commissioned
by the Spanish
government. It
shows the uprising
of May 2, 1808
when the Spanish
patriots attacked
Napoleon’s army.
Why do you think
this painting is not
as well known?

9. The French artist,
Théodore Gericault
painted this cavalry
officer in Napoleon’s
army. The beauty of
the man, his horse,
and their clothing
make war look like a
fun party.
Théodore Gericault
“Mounted Trumpeters of Napoleon's
Imperial Guard, 1813/1814”
Chester Dale Fund 1972.25
The National Gallery of Art,
Washington, D.C.
http://www.nga.gov/cgi-
bin/pimage?52877+0+0
How is this painting
different from “The
Third of May, 1808?”

10. Romanticism is an art style that was developed in the 19th
century. Goya is one of the most famous Romantic artists.
Romanticism emphasizes emotions in a bold and dramatic
way. Sometimes it does this by using subjects that are sad
or tragic. The feelings expressed by Romanticism are often
intense, mystical, and elusive. "Infinite longing" is the
essence of Romanticism. Romanticism was a reaction
against Neoclassicism. Neoclassicism was not emotional -
it was calm and restrained and emphasized the past.
Romanticism:

11. Jacques Louis David. "The Oath of
the Horatii,1784." Oil on canvas. 330
x 425 cm. Louvre, (Olga’s Gallery).
Paris, France.
http://www.abcgallery.com/D/david/da
vid.html
Francisco de Goya. “The
Clothed Maja (La Maja
Vestida), 1800-03.” Oil on
canvas. Museo del Prado,
(Olga’s Gallery). Madrid, Spain.
http://www.abcgallery.com/G/go
ya/goya53.html
Romantic
Neoclassical
How are the styles different?

12. The Times:
Francisco de Goya. “Self-
Portrait, 1773.” Oil on canvas,
58 x 44 cm. Private collection,
(Olga’s Gallery).
http://www.abcgallery.com/G/goya/goya1.
html
When Goya was born, there were a
few rich people, but everyone else was
poor and hungry. Spanish politics and
society were filled with corruption,
vanity, idleness, exploitation, and
superstition. The revolutions in
America and France gave many people
hope for freedom from oppression.
When Napoleon invaded Spain, Goya
hoped Napoleon would improve the
government of Spain. Joseph,
Napoleon's brother, did a few good
things. He closed the Spanish
Inquisition and shut down many

13. corrupt religious houses. However, the
French were very oppressive. They did
not try to make a free society for the
people of Spain. The people of Spain
were oppressed, not equal. Their
oppression caused the Spanish people
to rise up and fight the French. They
fought a "guerilla" war, a war without
organized armies. This brought even
more misery and suffering to the
Spanish People. After the French were
driven out of Spain, the Spanish
government was more oppressive than
ever. The monarchy was restored, as
was the Spanish Inquisition.
Francisco de Goya
“Self-Portrait., 1815.”
Oil on panel, 51 x 46 cm.
Royal Academy of San
Fernando, (Olga's
Gallery). Madrid, Spain.
<http://www.abcgallery.c
om/G/goya/goya71.html>

14. Description
• This is an oil painting.
• The colors are mostly neutral.
• The paint is thick.
• Brushstrokes show.
• One group of men is in back.
• Another group is in front.
• The men in front are aiming rifles and wearing uniforms.
• A lamp shines brightly on one of the civilians.
• No one else can be seen clearly.
• Most of the painting is dark.
• There aren’t many details, the people are very plain.
• The background is also plain and nondescript.

15. • Far away in the dark
background is a building. Is
it a church? The line of
civilians reaches back this far.
• In the dark midground is a green
hill. It is painted with thick
brushstrokes and surprising colors.
• In the foreground we see several
groups of civilians. This group is
crowded together around the man in
the white shirt. They are the lightest
and brightest figures in the painting.
One figure is only a colorful smear.
Description

16. Description
• Another darker group of civilians pulls
away from the man in white. This group
is painted in less detail.
• The soldiers have their backs
to us. We can’t see their faces.
Their uniforms seem messy.
They are lined up and working
in unison. A lamp lights their
way. It is very early in the
morning.
•In the front, we see civilians
who have already been shot.
They are framed by blood. They
are very blurry.

17. •The balance is asymmetrical.
•The rhythm of the soldiers is progressive.
•Their clothing is uniform but not identical.
•They stand in a strong line, but the line is not perfect.
•Their size is exaggerated.
•They are expressionless.
•They show no weakness.
•They are painted in dark and neutral colors.
•Their light and their weapons are aimed at the patriots.
Analysis

18. Analysis•The rhythm of the civilians is chaotic.
•Their bodies are arranged in a variety of poses.
•Their faces show a variety of expressions.
•They are lined up nearly to the background.
•All but one are painted in dark or neutral colors.
•That one holds up his arms in a pose of surrender.
•He uses more space in the painting than anyone else.
•The bright lamp shines strongly on him.
•His clothing is the most colorful part of the painting.
•Other patriots form a circle around him.
•Everything in the picture points to him.

19. Analysis
Evil
Robotic
Looming
Anonymous
The nameless and faceless soldiers are relentlessly advancing
on the patriots. They work together like a mindless machine.
They form an unbreakable line. Their side of the painting is
mostly geometric.
Threatening
Cold

20. Analysis
The disheveled patriots have been herded like cattle. Yet
no two patriots are reacting the same. Death may be
certain and chaos may rule, but they are meeting their
deaths like individuals, not animals.
Butchered
Angry
Resigned
Terrified
Good
Embracing
Despairing
Praying

21. •Who are these mysterious
figures?
•What do they represent?

22. Analysis
Who is this man?
Have you seen him before?
The Man is Francisco Goya.
Why do you suppose he put
himself into so many of his
paintings?
What is the meaning of his
pose?

23. Judgment
Unlike many great artists, Goya was recognized and
appreciated in his own lifetime. He used his painting skills to
flatter unworthy clients until life and his principles prevented
him from continuing to do so. Can we who live in a free
society really understand how hopeless Goya must have felt
when he saw injustice, lived and worked among the
perpetrators of that injustice, and was powerless to change it?
Would it have been better for Goya to have had no hope at all,
or to have that thin sliver of hope brought on by Napoleon’s
leadership, and then have that hope crushed? Goya’s world
was filled with ... silence. A man of principle and imagination,
he was forever denied everyday conversation. He had only his
own inner thoughts and desires for company. All of this is
reflected in The Third of May, 1808.

24. Judgment
But this painting does more than document Goya’s personal
struggle, it is also an artifact of that event - a tangible object
from that terrible war. Goya was an eye-witness. To the
Spanish, this painting is the greatest symbol of Spanish
independence and of the defense of liberty. To the world, this
painting is an honest reminder of the consequences of war.
These alone qualify this painting as an inspired piece of
propaganda. But the painting is much more…it is a great
painting. It is a great painting because it is so beautifully
painted. If we could stand in front of this painting, we would
see the expressive strokes of paint laid down by Goya - they
leave a shadow-ghost of his movements. The parts add up to a
complex and inexpressibly sad whole. Look at it deeply…if
you dare! There are no easy answers in this painting.

25. Boo, Boo. "Goya, Lecture." Museum of Claw Artists. 13 Jan 03
<http://www.netserves.com/moca/lectures/boogoya.htm>
David, Jacques Louis. "The Oath of the Horatii, 1784." Oil on canvas. 330 x 425 cm.
Louvre (Olga's Gallery), Paris, France. 13 Jan 03
<http://www.abcgallery.com/D/david/david.html>
DelaHunt, Michael. "ArtLex on Romanticism." ArtLex Art Dictionary. 22 Jan 03
<http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/r/romanticism.html>
Gericault,Théodore. "Mounted Trumpeters of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, 1813/1814."
Chester Dale Fund 1972.25 The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. 13 Jan 03
<http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pimage?52877+0+0>
Goya, Francisco. "Charles IV and His Family, 1800." Oil on canvas. Museo del Prado,
(Olga's Gallery) Madrid, Spain. 13 Jan 03
<http://www.abcgallery.com/G/goya/goya108.html>
Goya, Francisco. "The Clothed Maja (La Maja Vestida), 1800-03." Oil on canvas. Museo
del Prado, (Olga's Gallery) Madrid, Spain. 13 Jan 03
<http://www.abcgallery.com/G/goya/goya53.html>
"Goya y Lucientes, Francisco Jose' de." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2001. CD-ROM
Microsoft Corporation, 1993-2000.
Works Cited

26. "Francisco de Goya y Lucientes." Olga's Gallery. 13 Jan 03
<http://www.abcgallery.com/G/goya/goyabio.html>
"Francisco Goya." Online Museum of Art (sponsored by Geocities.com). 13 Jan 03
<http://www.geocities.com/Paris/6745/goya.html>
Goya, Francisco. "Self-Portrait, 1773." Oil on canvas, 58 x 44 cm. Private Collection,
(Olga's Gallery). 13 Jan 03 <http://www.abcgallery.com/G/goya/goya1.html>
Goya, Francisco. “Self-Portrait, 1815.” Oil on panel, 51 x 46 cm.Royal Academy of
San Fernando, (Olga's Gallery). Madrid, Spain. 13 Jan 03
<http://www.abcgallery.com/G/goya/goya71.html>
Goya, Francisco. "Self-Portrait with Dr. Arrieta, 1820." Oil on canvas, 117 x 79 cm.
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, (Olga's Gallery), Minneapolis, MN. 13 Jan 03
<http://www.abcgallery.com/G/goya/goya75.html>
"Francisco Goya." Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School. Orléans, Ontario. 13 Jan 03
<http://www.swil.ocdsb.edu.on.ca/FreRev/goya.html>
"Goya's Peasant Before the Firing Squad." The Cold War Era, Nike Missile Site SF
88L. 13 Jan 03 <http://www.nikemissile.net/Coldwar/goya_peasant.html>
Goya, Francisco. "Self-Portrait, 1773." Oil on canvas, 58 x 44 cm. Private Collection,
(Olga's Gallery). 13 Jan 03 <http://www.abcgallery.com/G/goya/goya1.html>

27. Goya, Francisco. “Self-Portrait, 1815.” Oil on panel, 51 x 46 cm.Royal Academy of
San Fernando, (Olga's Gallery). Madrid, Spain. 13 Jan 03
<http://www.abcgallery.com/G/goya/goya71.html>
Goya, Francisco. "Self-Portrait with Dr. Arrieta, 1820." Oil on canvas, 117 x 79 cm.
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, (Olga's Gallery), Minneapolis, MN. 13 Jan 03
<http://www.abcgallery.com/G/goya/goya75.html>
"Francisco Goya." Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School. Orléans, Ontario. 13 Jan 03
<http://www.swil.ocdsb.edu.on.ca/FreRev/goya.html>
"Goya's Peasant Before the Firing Squad." The Cold War Era, Nike Missile Site SF
88L. 13 Jan 03 <http://www.nikemissile.net/Coldwar/goya_peasant.html>
Goya, Francisco. "The Second of May, 1808 at the Puerta del Sol, 1814." Oil on
canvas. 266 x 345 cm. Museo del Prado, (Olga's Gallery). Madrid, Spain. 13 Jan 03
<http://www.abcgallery.com/G/goya/goya21.html>
Goya, Francisco. "The Third of May, 1808: The Execution of the Defenders of Madrid.
1814." Oil on canvas, 266 x 345 cm. Museo del Prado, (Olga's Gallery). Madrid, Spain.
13 Dec 03 <http://www.abcgallery.com/G/goya/goya70.html>
Museo del Prado. "Los Fusilamienos De La Montana De Principe Pio Goya" Museo
del Prado. Madrid, Spain. 17 Dec 03
<http://www.mcu.es/prado/villanueva/16_eng.html>
<http://museoprado.mcu.es/prado/html/i34.html>

28. The National Gallery of Art. "Goya, Working with Line." Art & Man Nov. 1988: pp. 2-9
Petrie, Chris. "The Shootings of May Third, 1808." Ezine Murray's HUM210 class. Summer
1997, Sauk Valley Community College. 13 Jan 03
<http://www.svcc.cc.il.us/academics/classes/murray/Ezine/unit3.htm>
"Romanticism." Global Gallery. 22 Jan 03
<http://www.globalgallery.com/knowledgecenter/romanticism.html>
"Romanticism (art)." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2001. CD-ROM Microsoft
Corporation, 1993-2000.