These, too
1810 - 1814. Etching, Drypoint, Burin on wove paper.Not on display
Very few prints from The Disasters of War show direct confrontations between the French and Spanish since the majority of the etchings portray the abuses and terrible consequences of war. Among these are images of the wounded, to whom Goya devoted three etchings, two of which are closely related in terms of their sequential placement as well as their titles. They apparently represent the gathering of the wounded from battles and skirmishes, and their conveyance by townsfolk to hospitals, a manifest example of charity and patriotism. Were it not for the titles, this might well be the explanation for the images.However, Goya displays a bitter irony here. In plate 20, Curarlos, y a otra (Get them well, and on to the next), Goya expresses criticism of charity borne from self-interest, suggesting it leads to people being taken advantage of, which Enrique Mélida recognised when he wrote: This egotistical objective is not what must have moved our forefathers to gather and cure the wounded. No: it must have been the sense of charity so manifest in those who exposed their lives to danger in the defence of the fatherland. But Goya was little concerned with such matters.The juxtaposition of Aun podrán servir (They can still be of use, plate 24) with this, the following print, makes manifest the sequential connection between images and titles that reinforces, through repetition, the expressive charge that Goya seeks to transmit. In Aun podrán servir, a group of civilians comes to the aid of several soldiers, recognisable from their uniforms. The tragedy they have suffered is suggested by their fallen arms, scattered on the ground, an unambiguous sign of defeat, and a device Goya would repeat years later in the painting The second of May 1808, Madrid 1814 (P748). Subsequently, in También estos, at first glance the soldiers appear to be recuperating from their wounds. A more careful examination reveals, however, that appearances are deceptive, for the convalescing soldiers are merely a group of almost useless bodies. Some are even prostrate on the floor, inert like the sack lying in the foreground. The differences between this print and Goya's preparatory drawing indicate that he made the etching more precise, with more details in the characterisation of faces, gestures and clothes. The faces, like the shadows in which the scene unfolds, contribute to an overall atmosphere of gloom - we can hardly imagine anything but the wailing of the wounded, some of whom are obliged to tend to themselves, such as the one in the foreground looking after his injured leg; or the concern of those who, somewhat awkwardly, fashion a tourniquet for a half-naked man, whose backside is exposed to us in an explicit image of humiliation and pathos (Matilla, J. M.: Portrait of Spain. Masterpieces from the Prado, Queensland Art Gallery-Art Exhibitions Australia, 2012, p. 217).
