Plate 56 from ‘The Disasters of War’ (Los Desastres de la Guerra): ‘To the cemetery.’ (Al cementerio.)

Description

In To the Cemetery, Francisco Goya depicts two men carrying a dead body, its head falling forward as they support its weight. The bearers’ opposite positions create a strained balance across the foreground. Another body remains farther back, and a woman holds a child nearby. The scene places the work of burial alongside the fragile persistence of the living.

Plate 56 of The Disasters of War draws attention to a task made commonplace by wartime famine. Goya does not turn the transport into a grand funeral procession; its significance lies in the effort of two ordinary people. Light on the body and bearers contrasts with the surrounding darkness, giving the action a quiet gravity. The plain title states a destination while leaving the human loss, and the lives continuing beside it, fully visible.

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