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How does Francisco Goya depict the French soldiers in The Third of May 1808?
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Francisco Goya
Detail of Self-portrait, etching by Francisco Goya from the series Los caprichos, 1799.
In his iconic painting The Third of May 1808, Francisco Goya depicts the French soldiers as a stark contrast to the Spanish insurgents. While the Spaniards are portrayed as colorful, individual, and deeply human figures, the French troops are rendered as inhuman, faceless, and uniform.123
By stripping the soldiers of their individual identities and presenting them as a monolithic, mechanical force, Goya emphasizes the cold, systematic nature of the militaristic violence they are inflicting upon the Spanish martyrs.13