Goya's "The Disasters of the War" on View at The Diocesan Museum

Written by Fidel Guardino Tuesday, 28 February 2012 21:14

BARCELONA.- Ibercaja, together with the Diocesan Museum of Barcelona, has organized this exhibition of the first complete series of "The Disasters of the War": 80 engravings of the Aragonese painter Francisco Goya Lucientes (Fuendetodos, Zaragoza, 1746 - Bordeaux, 1828). These were painted during the Spanish Independence War, between 1810 and 1814, and are a graphical chronicle of those tragic events. However, Goya far-reaches the events and his existential and vital adventure, and he uses his art to make a declaration against all wars: he denounces the atrocities of the French army against the Spanish people, as well as the violence of the soldiers and the uncontrollable masses. The result of these paintings is the evidence of a surprisingly modernity for the times, a real crude disillusioned reflexion about mankind, finding itself in a limit situation that creates cruelty, death and misery and shows the failure of reason, strongly defended by the erudites.

His series are etched with dry point, lavis, burin and varnish and could not be published before the painter’s death. The first impression shown here was made by the Real Academia de Bellas Artes of San Fernando in 1863, although it is known that Goya himself made some trials in 1814-1815.

Many of the defects and problems that Goya reflected with a critical sense in these engravements, still are reflected nowadays as great existential and social problems. With his testimony, this exhibition appeals to the commitment and complicity of the visitors, to achieve, the sooner the better, that reason is imposed again and "lights" shine in humanity.




Also in the series of the Diocesan Archive of Barcelona designated “Records and Information” (numbers 373 and 374) find both processes against two dozens of “Spanish collaborationists” (treacherous or spies) favourable to the French invasion decreed by Napoleon in the year 1808. Between them it fits to stand out to two priests: Serafí Llorens, benefited of the Barcelonan parish of Sant Cugat of the Rec, and Pere Coret, official of the Episcopalian curia of Barcelona. The French became strong and resided in the castle of Montjuïc and in the Citadel. Coret was the commander of the anti-French forces of Catalonia, but at the same time he was double spy of the French. He was judged between other terrible actions, which today could be described as terrorism, for poisoning the waters that arrived to the two mentioned fortresses, and even poisoned the bread of the French soldiers. His attempt was that once dying the horses and the soldiers they could enter in to the troops of the general Lacy contrary to France that would arrive from the Vallès Oriental. However he never finished successfully his campaigns, because shortly before he sold the information through a spy that was his lover to the contrary edict. He sold the information to the highest bidder.

They attribute him several murders, and even observes that the rectors of the no French zone were forced to read in the masses some edicts in which they promised great rewards to those who killed —and afterwards showed it— French people. The Hospital of the Saint Cross of Barcelona was filled of soldiers with acute diarrhoeas and some died. Also it has evidence that these soldiers sent to France his letters relating what happened attributing the facts to that in Barcelona and Montserrat the air and the waters were unhealthy, ignoring the real cause. This has been verified in the French archives.

Serafí Llorens collaborated with the French giving information of his neighbours that were against the French. He had to pay a fine of 3.000 duros that was a fortune then. All these cases are part of the other side of “The Disasters of the War”, here no painted by Goya, but by the truthfulness of our archives.

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