This is worse
Encyclopedia
This is worse is an etching
and wash drawing by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya
(1746–1828). Completed between 1812–1815, though not published until 1863, it forms part of his Disasters of War series, which Goya created as a visual protest against the violence of the 1808 Dos de Mayo Uprising
and subsequent Peninsular War
of 1808–1814.
The image is based on a scene which occurred in Chinchón
in December 1808, at a time when Goya's brother was living there as parish priest. When two French soldiers were killed by Spanish rebels, the French retaliated by massacring local men. Goya shows the mutilated body of a rebel impaled
on the branches of a tree at two points – through his anus and shoulder blade. The victim's head is turned towards the picture's viewer, in a motif that echoes the title of another work in the Disasters series - One cannot look. His right arm has been chopped off above the elbow. In the background, French soldiers cheer and mock. The drawing contains sexual undertones in that the victim appears to have been raped.
The figuration of the dead man is based in part on the Hellenistic fragment of a male nude, the Belvedere Torso
, by an Athenian sculptor. Goya had earlier made a black wash drawing study of the statue during a visit to Rome. However, he subverts the classical motifs used in war art by adding a degree of theatre – the branch through the anus, animated shoulders and close framing. The man is naked, itself a daring presentation for Spanish art in the 19th century.
A 1863 print of This is Worse was purchased by the National Galleries of Scotland
in 1967.
Etching
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
and wash drawing by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya
Francisco Goya
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Goya was a court painter to the Spanish Crown, and through his works was both a commentator on and chronicler of his era...
(1746–1828). Completed between 1812–1815, though not published until 1863, it forms part of his Disasters of War series, which Goya created as a visual protest against the violence of the 1808 Dos de Mayo Uprising
Dos de Mayo Uprising
On the second of May , 1808, the people of Madrid rebelled against the occupation of the city by French troops, provoking a brutal repression by the French Imperial forces and triggering the Peninsular War.-Background:...
and subsequent Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
of 1808–1814.
The image is based on a scene which occurred in Chinchón
Chinchón
Chinchón is a Spanish town 50 km southeast of Madrid. It is part of the Comarca de Las Vegas.-Overview:The Plaza Mayor is roughly circular, surrounded by 15th-17th century galleried houses and cafés and is used as a temporary bullring. The church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción was built in...
in December 1808, at a time when Goya's brother was living there as parish priest. When two French soldiers were killed by Spanish rebels, the French retaliated by massacring local men. Goya shows the mutilated body of a rebel impaled
Impalement
Impalement is the traumatic penetration of an organism by an elongated foreign object such as a stake, pole, or spear, and this usually implies complete perforation of the central mass of the impaled body...
on the branches of a tree at two points – through his anus and shoulder blade. The victim's head is turned towards the picture's viewer, in a motif that echoes the title of another work in the Disasters series - One cannot look. His right arm has been chopped off above the elbow. In the background, French soldiers cheer and mock. The drawing contains sexual undertones in that the victim appears to have been raped.
The figuration of the dead man is based in part on the Hellenistic fragment of a male nude, the Belvedere Torso
Belvedere Torso
The Belvedere Torso is a fragment of a nude male statue, signed prominently on the front of the base by an Athenian sculptor "Apollonios son of Nestor", who is unmentioned in ancient literature...
, by an Athenian sculptor. Goya had earlier made a black wash drawing study of the statue during a visit to Rome. However, he subverts the classical motifs used in war art by adding a degree of theatre – the branch through the anus, animated shoulders and close framing. The man is naked, itself a daring presentation for Spanish art in the 19th century.
A 1863 print of This is Worse was purchased by the National Galleries of Scotland
National Galleries of Scotland
The National Galleries of Scotland are the five national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries. It is one of the country's National Collections.-List of national galleries:* The National Gallery of Scotland* The Royal Scottish Academy Building...
in 1967.