Francisco Goya's 'The Third of May 1808' (1814) commemorates the execution of Madrid civilians by Napoleonic troops on the night following the failed 'Dos de Mayo' uprising of 1808. A lone white-shirted man throws out his arms in a Christ-like gesture before a faceless firing squad; a lantern on the ground casts the scene in harsh spotlight. Painted at the invitation of the returning Spanish government, the work abandoned the balanced heroism of traditional history painting for a violent moral indictment of war, prefiguring Manet's 'Execution of Maximilian' and Picasso's 'Guernica' more than a century later.

Exhibition Venue

Museo del Prado

Madrid, Spain