Plate 5 from ‘The Disasters of War’ (Los Desastres de la Guerra): ‘And they are like wild beasts.’ (Y son fieras.)

Description

In And they are like wild beasts, women attack armed soldiers, with a child near one of the women adding another dimension to the struggle. Francisco Goya’s And They Are Like Wild Beasts shows resistance as a fierce bodily action rather than a distant ideal. The scene brings defense, anger and vulnerability together within a crowded confrontation.

Made in 1810 and published in 1863, the print is plate 5 of The Disasters of War. Etching, aquatint and drypoint give the participants a concentrated physical presence. The title’s comparison does not simplify the event into a comfortable moral category. Goya shows how people drawn into violence can become both threatened and dangerous, allowing the image’s force to emerge from a struggle in which ordinary distinctions between civilian life and combat have broken down.

Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Goya collection.