Behind the Art: Why is The Third of May (1808) by Francisco Goya called the world’s first modern painting?

The story centres around Napoleon who in 1807 was determined to conquer the world. He allied with Charles IV, the king of Spain, to conquer Portugal. Napoleon’s soldiers filled Spain, evidently going through. But it soon became clear what Napoleon really wanted and the alliance was a con. The French were ascending and Napoleon’s brother, Joseph Bonaparte, became the new king of Spain. It was then that hundreds of Spaniards rebelled on May 2, 1808. On May 3, these Spanish political dissidents were gathered together and slaughtered by the French. Madrid’s streets were literally splattered with their blood. Even though Goya had supported France in the past, the artist was deeply affected by the slaughter of his countrymen and the horrors of war. In paintings, he remembered both days of this horrible uprising. While Goya’s The Third of May, 1808 in Madrid, is regarded as one of the great paintings of all time, Goya’s Second of May is a tour de force of twisting bodies and charging horses that is similar to Leonardo da Vinci’s Battle of Anghiari.

What does the painting show?

The Third of May 1808 is set in the early hours of the early daytime following the uprising. In this modern masterpiece, we see a group of French soldiers firing at a Spanish man, who raises his arms in submission to the soldiers and his fate. An executioner’s wall is erected behind him on a rural hill. He is standing at the feet of a pile of bodies that are bleeding. A continuous line of Spanish rebels stretches into the landscape to his opposite side. To avoid witnessing the death they are aware will befall them, they cover their eyes. They are a long way behind civilization and the city. Even a monk kneeling in prayer will soon perish. According to critics, Goya has contrasted the fierce repetition of the soldiers’ attitudes and the steely line of their rifles, with the crumbling irregularity of their target. The scene is illuminated dramatically by a square lantern on the ground between the two groups. The most prominent figure is the brilliantly lit man kneeling among the bloodied bodies of those who have already been executed, his arms flung wide in either appeal or defiance. A townscape with a steeple looms in the nocturnal distance, likely including the French barracks, without detracting from the intensity of the drama in the foreground.

How did Francisco Goya transform Christian iconography?

What makes Goya’s painting so different from conventional Christian art is that he showcases a moving depiction of man’s inhumanity to man and its brilliant transformation of Christian iconography. The crucified Christ is replaced by the central figure of the painting, who is clearly a poor labourer. He is putting himself at risk for the benefit of his nation. The only light in the painting is the lantern between him and the firing squad. It brilliantly illuminates his body, bathing him in what can be thought of as spiritual light. Christ’s prayer on the cross is echoed by his expressive face, which conveys an emotion of anguish that is more sad than terrified. Stigmata, a reference to the marks left on Christ’s body during the Crucifixion, can also be seen on the victim’s right hand when examined closely. The man’s posture not only establishes his humanity but also establishes his similarity to Christ. In contrast, the French soldiers become mechanical or insect-like. They morph into a single faceless, multi-legged creature that lacks empathy.

Why is this painting so significant?

Battle and death were depicted in art from the 18th century as bloodless events with little emotional impact. Even the great French Romanticists were more concerned with creating an emotional impact than with creating a beautiful canvas that depicted the hero performing a heroic act. The anti-hero depicted in Goya’s painting, on the other hand, possesses a genuine pathos that has not been seen since perhaps the ancient Roman sculpture of The Dying Gaul. Goya’s focal figure isn’t dying gallantly in a fight, yet rather being killed out and about like a creature. Both the scene and the dress of the men are dull, making the painting immortal. Certainly, because of this, the piece still evokes strong emotions today.

Francisco Goya and his legacy

It was not just the critics and viewers that were impressed by Goya’s artwork. Both Manet and Picasso used The Third of May in Madrid as inspiration for their own depictions of political assassinations (Manet’s Execution of Emperor Maximilian and Picasso’s Massacre in Korea). Goya’s The Third of May 1808 in Madrid, along with Picasso’s Guernica, is still one of the most chilling depictions of war atrocities ever created. It is difficult to imagine how much more powerful it must have been in the pre-photographic era before people were exposed to media depictions of war.

Next up in Behind the Art: The Story Behind Picasso’s Controversial Anti-War Painting, ‘Massacre in Korea’.

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