Plate 13 from “The Disasters of War’ (Los Desastres de la Guerra): ‘Bitter to be Present.’ (Amarga presencia.)

Description

In Bitter to be Present, violence unfolds beneath an arch while a bound man is forced into the role of witness. Francisco Goya’s Bitter to Be Present makes presence itself an ordeal, separating the ability to see from any ability to intervene. The scene joins the vulnerability of those being attacked to the helplessness of someone who must remain nearby.

Made in 1810 and published in 1863, plate 13 of The Disasters of War uses etching and tonal work to give the enclosed encounter a concentrated severity. Goya’s title identifies another consequence of conflict beyond direct bodily injury: the suffering of being compelled to watch. The image’s force lies in that division between awareness and agency, making the spectator within the scene a painful counterpart to the viewer outside it, who must also confront what the image presents.

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