Revolutionary Art

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how revolution and social turmoil have always been accompanied by artistic creation. It examines Francisco Goya's "The Third of May 1808," Eugene Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People 1830," and Ernest Meissonier's "Memory of the Civil War (the Barricades) 1849" and shows how they are three great pieces, which portray the glory and atrocity, the tragedy and humanity, of three revolutions.

From the Paper:

"Francisco Goya's "The Third of May, 1808" tells the story of an execution in the aftermath of the Spanish insurrections that protested Napoleon's invasion of Spain. In this famous painting, a line of soldiers take aim at a single prisoner. To his left a pile of bleeding corpses demonstrate his inevitable fate. To his right a line of frightened, sobbing prisoners illustrate the immediate backstory for this moment. He is caught in the spotlight between anticipation and culmination, at the very second before death. Yet unlike the living he is not portrayed as frightened or even defeated, but as a gloriously triumphant figure. The scene is painted in dark earth tones, and all the figures have shadowed faces and dark clothes. The only light in the entire picture radiates from the prisoner's central figure (strictly speaking, he is illuminated by a spotlight, but the still shines brighter than the light itself)."

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