Plate 7 from “The Disasters of War’ (Los Desastres de la Guerra): ‘What courage!’ (Que valor!)

Description

In What courage!, a woman attends to a cannon above fallen bodies, her active posture giving the scene a stark contrast between determination and loss. Francisco Goya’s What Courage! places the force of resistance beside its human cost. The weapon becomes a focus for action, while the ground around it prevents that action from appearing untouched by suffering.

Made in 1810 and published in 1863, plate 7 of The Disasters of War uses etching and aquatint to establish the figure with concentrated clarity. Goya’s title acknowledges courage without removing the scene’s severity. The image is compelling because accomplishment and devastation remain inseparable: the woman acts where others have fallen. Its power lies in that continuation, showing a person who responds to catastrophe through a precise undertaking rather than allowing the surrounding destruction to end every possibility of resistance.

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