These two pictures are painted by a Spanish painter, Francisco de Goya and a French painter, Éduoard Manet. The left picture was painted by Goya, named "The Third of May, 1808". This painting depicted that Spanish peasants being massacred by Napoleon's soldiers. The right picture was painted by Manet, named "Death of Maximilian". The painting described that a history about Napoleon III and the Mexico emperor Maximilian in 1867. Besides, their different creative background and times, there are another few different points in these two pictures.
The first different point with two pictures is the overall color tone. Goya's painting uses yellow, red, and entirely brown and black. The scene is dark night and these colors are use to depict bloodiest war. However, Manet's painting uses blue, green, and gray, the incident occurred during the day. These colors that Manet use seem like cooler color then Goya's warmer color.
The second different point is figures in these two pictures. Goya depicted that Spanish peasants being massacred, but Manet described an emperor was executed for treason. People who are killed are in different level at first. In addition, figures in Goya's Painting were innocent and ignorant people, but in Manet's painting, even the emperor was innocent, he already knew that he would die.
Moreover, in Goya's painting, the central Spanish peasant's hands are outstretched in a pose that recalls Christ on the cross, so the peasant wears white shirt because of innocent and contrast in the black canvas. The Maximilian in Manet's painting wears a black robe This point emphasize that his collaborators' white shirt. On the other hand, the proportion of Spanish peasants and soldiers in Goya's painting are equal, but in Manet's is not. In Manet's painting, soldiers obviously more than Maximilian and his collaborators, and one soldier independent from other soldiers to prevent accidents.
To sum up, the work of artists are not only for artistic practice, but they also present a truth, a truth of this world. Artists use an intermediary in their hands to tell something about the world and people. Their works sometimes also can be a microcosm of the times, and impacting people forever, just like the painter Goya and the painter Manet.
2010.6.4 @ 7:00pm Lecture Hall of National Taiwan University of Arts
Program: Gaspar Cassado / Suite per Violoncello Solo Benjamin Britten / Suite for Cello, No. 3, Op.87 Bright Sheng / Seven Tunes Heard in China for Cello Solo
