Y no hai remedio, Francisco Goya (1810)
From Francisco Goya's series, The Disasters of War, comes this hauntingly powerful and raw image of war. A man, blindfolded and bound to a wooden stake, stands waiting to accept the gruesome fate of the men around him. In the background we see soldiers, responsible for the bloody scene, lined up with their rifles pointed, ready to take more innocent lives. It is only a matter of time before the figure in the front joins the others on the floor, and as the title suggests, there is nothing to be done.
The Disasters of War is a collection of eighty-two images created on plates with etching and drypoint techniques. The nature of the plates allows them to reprinted for mass distribution, which was necessary to spread the message of protest at the time. The images depict scenes of war, criticizing the French occupation of Spain by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807. Bonaparte seized the throne after gaining the trust of King Charles IV under false pretenses of joining forces. Spanish citizens responded in fury. Uprisings occurred all over the country, which resulted in the brutal deaths of numerous civilians.
These prints immortalized the horrific actions of the French so that they could never be forgotten. Goya believed that war brings out the worst in men, that it takes the humanity out of us. He also believed that if you observe these atrocities and don't do anything to stop them, you are just as responsible for the violence. By spreading these images, Goya forced people to confront the war crimes and encouraged them to take action.