Francisco de Goya (b. 1746, Fuentedetodos)

The 3rd of May 1808 in Madrid

1814, oil on canvas, 268 x 347 cm.

Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, marked as public domain.

On the second of May 1808, the people of Spain’s largest city, Madrid, rebelled against the French who had invaded their country two months earlier. These rebels were shopkeepers, artisans and labourers, who also opposed Spanish republicans sympathetic to the ideals of the French Revolution. The guerilla warfare conducted by these rebels is regarded as one of the first “people’s wars”.  The painting depicts a firing squad from Napoleon´s army shooting patriots in reprisal for the uprising of the previous day. Goya focuses the light on the heroes, giving each one a distinct, individual character.  The pristine white of the central man’s shirt seems to symbolise the justice of the rebel cause, and we can’t help but anticipate the blood that will soak through it within minutes. The painting has been described as "the first great picture which can be called revolutionary in every sense of the word, in style, in subject, and in intention."