The Fernando el Católico Institution of the Zaragoza Provincial Council has published ‘Aragón in the Disasters of the War by Francisco de Goya’, by military historian José Pérez Francés. This work proposes, for the first time, a connection between the entire creative project of the famous series of engravings and events that occurred during the war in Aragonese territory, based on the analysis of the preparatory drawings and various historical sources.
Book launch revealing the connection between Goya and Aragon
The presentation of this publication will take place next Wednesday at 7:00 PM in the old Plenary Hall of the Provincial Council of Zaragoza. The event will feature the presence of the director of the IFC, Carlos Forcadell, and the author himself, with free entry until capacity is reached.
Methodological approach of the innovative study
Pérez Francés has utilized a variety of sources for his research, comparing the engravings with the preparatory drawings of the prints in which Goya sketched background scenes that were simplified when transferred to the plates. The study also includes maps, historical accounts, and countless documents related to the War of Independence.
As the author explains, «the preparatory drawings serve to prove that the ‘Disasters’ refer to events related to the campaigns of the Sieges of Zaragoza. Some were done ‘in situ’, and others based on testimonies after the first and second Siege concluded.»
Geographical contributions of Pérez Francés’s study
The study proposes locations for virtually all the scenes of the engravings, identifying new sites in places such as Daroca, Tabuenca, the Monastery of Santa Fe, Villafeliche, or Zaragoza.
Daroca is identified as the setting for the engraving ‘I Saw It’, reinforcing the hypothesis previously proposed by art historian José Camón Aznar. Additionally, Pérez Francés believes that three other engravings were located there: ‘And This Too’ (Disaster 45), ‘Everything is in Turmoil’ (Disaster 42), and ‘This Too’ (Disaster 43).
The Monastery of Santa Fe is associated with the episodes of looting and murder of friars depicted in Disasters 46, 47, and 38, related to the looting carried out by the Polish regiment of the Vistula Lancers in June 1808.
Villafeliche appears as the setting for the scenes identified in Disasters 24 and 20.
The Battle of Épila (June 1808) is linked to engravings numbers 15 (‘And There is No Remedy’), 36 (‘Neither’), and 19 (‘There is No Time Left’), based on military attire, the methods of execution of victims, the landscape of massive deforestation ordered by the French, and the chronology of the conflict.
Historical background of Goya’s creations
Goya was 62 years old when the conflict began. After the first Siege of Zaragoza in October 1808, he was summoned to the Aragonese capital by General José de Palafox to capture the devastation wrought by the French army and the glories of the local population, a visit commonly accepted by all specialists.
The structural design of Goya’s project
The study suggests that Goya conceived the series as a major creative project encompassing preparatory drawings and engravings, totaling 95 pieces, originally in chronological order and divided into three parts:
- A first Aragonese series of prints (from 1808 to 1814), covering the War of Independence in Aragon and the so-called emphatic caprices
- A second series on the justice of José I Bonaparte
- A third on the famine in Madrid
Of the 95 preparatory drawings, 87 were transferred to plates for engravings, two of which were broken. The first edition of the engravings under the title ‘Disasters of the War’ was printed in 1863, 35 years after the painter’s death.
«The creative project that Goya made is a historical narrative in chronological order that can be followed by interpreting the clues left by its creator. This review breaks with what has been proposed until now,» states Pérez Francés.
