Plate 74 from ‘The Disasters of War’ (Los Desastres de la Guerra): ‘That is the worst of it!’ (Esto es lo peor!)

Description

Francisco Goya’s That Is the Worst of It shows a wolf-like creature writing while a kneeling friar holds its inkwell. Thin, troubled people surround the pair, some restrained or dressed in rags. The animal’s concentration resembles the purposeful activity of an official, making the substitution of beast for human especially pointed. Writing becomes the action through which power is exercised.

Plate 74 of The Disasters of War draws on the satirical animal world of Giambattista Casti. Goya places a reference to that writer within the print itself, but does not turn the scene into a simple illustration. The support offered by the friar contrasts with the suffering around them. The image questions language that assigns blame to the vulnerable, showing how official explanation and compliant assistance can serve cruelty rather than justice.

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