Art theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Art theory - Essay Example However, in the case of The Third of May, de Goya seemed to have been inspired by the political and social status of Spain during that time, believed to have been in Spain during the six year French occupation in his country. It is also speculated that he personally witnessed the killings of his own people through a telescope after which, he visited the shooting venues and took note of the situation in a closer inventory. The metaphors presented in de Goya’s painting are seen in the dead people. If the speculations are true that he had personal inventories of the aftermath, the dead men speak for other people who have been killed. The whole picture does not only speak for one event but for all the killing events during that time whose victims are mostly commoners as the clothes in the painting show. The Spaniards on the left side, the weak side could be a metaphor in itself. In addition, their clothes which give away their social status which could be miners, farmers or other hard workers, speak of inability to save oneself when he is faced with a giant, not only in the physical sense of it but holistically as their enemies are armed with rifles and swords. In contrast, the soldiers on the right side speak of strength and being in control. Their guns and fires also speak the same language as they face the Spaniards who have no strength or means to fight back in a fair battle. The emotions that the Spaniards exude in the picture represent the fear that gripped all of those who have been represented in the picture when they were facing death in the hands of their colonizers. The folded hand of the man nearest the dead bodies is the metaphor of the Spaniards’ being religious. In this painting, their only resort is shown as the Almighty drawn from the sign language of clasping one’s hands in prayer as well as bowing in reverence to God. Looking closely at the man with