Plate 31 from ‘The Disasters of War’ (Los Desastres de la Guerra): ‘That’s tough!’ (Fuerte cosa es!)

Description

In That Is Tough, Francisco Goya places soldiers beside bodies hanging from trees. One armed figure dominates the foreground while another pulls at a victim’s leg. A further encounter remains partly obscured behind them. The rough trunks become instruments of violence, making the landscape inhospitable rather than sheltering. Short, urgent lines give the scene a harsh immediacy.

Plate 31 of The Disasters of War questions a brutality that continues even when a victim can no longer resist. Goya leaves some actions ambiguous, but the imbalance between armed men and exposed bodies is unmistakable. The brief title expresses an appalled response rather than a military explanation. The print directs attention to deliberate cruelty, refusing to let the language of conflict turn these human losses into an impersonal account of victory.

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