The Third of May 1808
On the 2nd of May 1808, the people of Madrid rebelled against French troops. Marshal Joachim Murat issued a proclamation to his soldiers that same day. He declared that all those arrested with arms in hand would be shot. This order set the stage for the events that followed before dawn on the next morning. The rebellion was sparked by news that the Spanish royal family planned to leave for France. Napoleon had placed his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the throne after forcing King Charles IV to abdicate. The occupying forces found little resistance until the uprising began in Puerta del Sol square. A cavalry charge by Mamelukes occurred during several hours of fierce combat. The French response was swift and brutal. Before dawn on the 3rd of May 1808, hundreds of Spaniards were rounded up. They were executed at various locations around Madrid including Príncipe Pío Hill.
In February 1814, Francisco Goya approached the provisional government of Spain. He requested permission to perpetuate the heroic actions of the insurrection through his brush. His proposal was accepted shortly after the final expulsion of the French from Spain. Goya began work on what became known as The Third of May 1808. It is not known whether he personally witnessed either the rebellion or the reprisals. Some accounts suggest he may have lived near the corner of Puerta del Sol at the time. An account from novelist Antonio de Trueba claimed that Isidoro, Goya's gardener, accompanied him on the night of the third. Isidoro supposedly said he sketched the corpses of the slain alongside the artist. The painting was created two months before its companion piece The Second of May 1808. Both works were commissioned by the provisional government at Goya's own suggestion. The paintings memorialized the rebellion of May 1808 against Napoleon's armies.
A square lantern sits on the ground between two masses of men in the painting. Its dramatic light falls on huddled victims to the left side of the canvas. A monk or friar appears among them with hands clasped in prayer. To the immediate right stands a firing squad engulfed in shadow. Their bayonets and shako headgear form a relentless column facing the captives. Most faces of the executioners cannot be seen except for one man peeping fearfully toward the soldiers. The brightest illumination highlights the central figure whose arms are raised in surrender. This man displays stigmata-like marks on his right hand resembling Christ's wounds. He wears yellow and white heraldic colors associated with the papacy. The lantern provides stark illumination so viewers may witness wanton violence rather than spiritual grace. The composition contrasts the steely line of rifles with crumbling irregularity of targets. A townscape with a steeple looms in the nocturnal distance behind the hillside.
King Ferdinand VII kept the work in storage for decades after its completion. No details about its first exhibition survive from contemporaneous accounts. The lack of commentary may stem from Ferdinand's preference for neoclassical art. Popular revolts were not regarded as suitable subject matter by the restored Bourbons. A monument to fallen heroes commissioned alongside the painting was also stopped by Ferdinand. The painting remained in government or monarchy possession according to an 1834 Prado inventory. Théophile Gautier mentioned seeing what he called a massacre during a museum visit in 1845. Another visitor noted it in 1858 though both referred to events of the second of May. In 1867 biographer Charles Emile Yriarte considered the painting important enough for special exhibition. It did not appear in the Prado's published catalog until 1872 under the title Scene of the Third of May 1808. The royal collection had been transferred to the museum upon its opening in 1819.
Édouard Manet painted Execution of Emperor Maximilian between 1867 and 1869 inspired by Goya's work. He borrowed heavily thematically and technically from The Third of May 1808. Pablo Picasso created Guernica in 1937 citing this painting as influence. Massacre in Korea followed in 1951 as another direct reference to the composition. Norman Rockwell painted Murder in Mississippi in 1965 echoing the lighting and arrangement. These works all depict executions with similar visual structures. Gerald Holtom designed the peace sign based on imagery from this painting. The painting is acknowledged as one of the first of the modern era. Kenneth Clark called it the first great picture revolutionary in style subject and intention. It broke traditions of Christian art and traditional depictions of war without distinct precedent. The painting secured status as an archetypal image of war horrors through emotional force alone.
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Common questions
What happened on the 2nd of May 1808 in Madrid?
The people of Madrid rebelled against French troops after news that the Spanish royal family planned to leave for France. Marshal Joachim Murat issued a proclamation ordering that all those arrested with arms in hand would be shot.
When was The Third of May 1808 painting created by Francisco Goya?
Francisco Goya began work on the painting in February 1814 after approaching the provisional government of Spain. He completed it two months before creating its companion piece The Second of May 1808.
Where were the executions carried out during the uprising of May 1808?
Hundreds of Spaniards were rounded up and executed at various locations around Madrid including Príncipe Pío Hill before dawn on the 3rd of May 1808. The rebellion initially began in Puerta del Sol square where cavalry charges occurred.
Who designed the peace sign based on imagery from The Third of May 1808?
Gerald Holtom designed the peace sign based on imagery from this painting. The composition influenced later works such as Pablo Picasso's Guernica created in 1937 and Massacre in Korea painted in 1951.
Why did King Ferdinand VII keep The Third of May 1808 in storage for decades?
King Ferdinand VII kept the work in storage because popular revolts were not regarded as suitable subject matter by the restored Bourbons. His preference for neoclassical art also contributed to the lack of commentary and exhibition until the painting appeared in the Prado catalog in 1872.