Goya and the dark side of civilization

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was one of the greatest Spanish painters who lived between the 18th and 19th centuries. Considered the last of the ancient Masters and the first of the moderns, Goya often dealt with the theme of war in his works. Although Goya never expressed his "pacifist" thoughts in words, his works anticipated by decades the advent of photography which revolutionized the history of images and the relationship between popular sentiment and war in the twentieth century. Two works above all, both created in 1814, are a vivid testimony of his sensitivity: the paintings 2 May 1808 and 3 May 1808. Injustice, suffering, violence are also the theme of another important body of his works, the series of prints entitled The Disasters of War, drawings with which Goya lays bare the brutality and horror of war. The series of 80 drawings was published years after the artist's death, in 1863. The National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo acquired a complete series of the first edition which is now displayed in a major exhibition for the first time. A strong universal message across the ages that casts a fearless glimpse into the darkest depths of human existence.