Goya
James McBride
Paul Chafe
SSH 205
November 15, 2012
“The Third of May 1808”: The Influence of Modern Paintings
Throughout history, documents have formed the basis of the society we live in today. One document that has changed over time, influencing many communities with its revolutionary thought, and promoting a new way of thought regarding War and art itself, is Francisco Goya’s painting “The Third of May 1808”. Marshall McLuhan believes that every document, regardless of the message they communicate, exert a compelling influence on man and society. Goya’s painting is an example of one of these documents. According to Duguid and Brown, a document can allow for the formation of new societies and communities, such as the revolutionary communities created out of Goya’s painting. Goya’s painting also helped usher in the modern, emotional, and honest way of painting in the late 19th century, in part, as McLuhan would say, thanks to the telegraph (McLuhan 5). “The Third of May 1808” was a document with the ability to exert a compelling influence on man and society from the past, present, and into the future. “The Third of May 1808” is one of many paintings depicting the horrors of war. With his painting, Goya gave us an intimate look at war, highlighting the evils of ignorance and superstition in his work. According to McLuhan, this painting had the ability to exert a compelling influence on man and society. Goya introduced into Spanish society a new way of thinking and painting. Goya is largely seen as one of the fathers of modernist painting, in large part due to “The Third of May 1808.”(Hughes 208) McLuhan writes that documents have the ability to transform an entire environment, which is basically what happens with Goya and his painting. “The Third of May 1808” was published posthumously in Spain, but that didn’t stop the wave of change from crashing down. Goya’s painting conveyed information in a way that was sympathetic to the Spanish people at the
Paul Chafe
SSH 205
November 15, 2012
“The Third of May 1808”: The Influence of Modern Paintings
Throughout history, documents have formed the basis of the society we live in today. One document that has changed over time, influencing many communities with its revolutionary thought, and promoting a new way of thought regarding War and art itself, is Francisco Goya’s painting “The Third of May 1808”. Marshall McLuhan believes that every document, regardless of the message they communicate, exert a compelling influence on man and society. Goya’s painting is an example of one of these documents. According to Duguid and Brown, a document can allow for the formation of new societies and communities, such as the revolutionary communities created out of Goya’s painting. Goya’s painting also helped usher in the modern, emotional, and honest way of painting in the late 19th century, in part, as McLuhan would say, thanks to the telegraph (McLuhan 5). “The Third of May 1808” was a document with the ability to exert a compelling influence on man and society from the past, present, and into the future. “The Third of May 1808” is one of many paintings depicting the horrors of war. With his painting, Goya gave us an intimate look at war, highlighting the evils of ignorance and superstition in his work. According to McLuhan, this painting had the ability to exert a compelling influence on man and society. Goya introduced into Spanish society a new way of thinking and painting. Goya is largely seen as one of the fathers of modernist painting, in large part due to “The Third of May 1808.”(Hughes 208) McLuhan writes that documents have the ability to transform an entire environment, which is basically what happens with Goya and his painting. “The Third of May 1808” was published posthumously in Spain, but that didn’t stop the wave of change from crashing down. Goya’s painting conveyed information in a way that was sympathetic to the Spanish people at the
References: Goya, F. (1985). In Gudiol J. (Ed.), Goya. New York: Abrams. Hughes, R. (2003). Goya (1st ed. ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf :|bDistributed by Random House. Keegan, J. (1977, 1976). The face of battle. New York: Vintage Books. Kelly, J. (2004). Gunpowder: Alchemy, bombards, and pyrotechnics : The history of the explosive that changed the world. New York: Basic Books. McLuhan, Marshall. The Playboy Interview. Diss. N.d. N.p.: n.p., n.d. NextNaturenet Exploring the Nature Caused by People RSS. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://www.nextnature.net/2009/12/the-playboy-interview-marshall-mcluhan/>. Ortega y Gasset, J. (1972). Velazquez, goya and the dehumanization of art. New York, N.Y.: W.W. Norton. Seely Brown, John, and Paul Duguid. "The Social Life of Documents." Firstmonday.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. Wilson, E. (2008). Against happiness: In praise of melancholy (1st ed. ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.