Plate 3 from ‘The Disasters of War’ (Los Desastres de la Guerra): ‘The same. (Lo mismo’.)

Description

In The same, a violent encounter centers on an axe raised above human bodies, making the next action feel terrifyingly close. Francisco Goya’s The Same answers an earlier scene of brutality with another, refusing to reserve cruelty for one side alone. The figures’ physical engagement gives the title’s comparison an immediate and disturbing weight.

Made in 1810 and published in 1863, plate 3 of The Disasters of War uses etching and tonal work to keep the violence concrete. Goya does not offer the comfort of a righteous spectacle in which every action can be excused by allegiance. The image asks the viewer to confront what is being done. Its power lies in that refusal of easy distinction, making reciprocal violence appear as a repetition of human destruction rather than a reassuring correction of wrong.

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