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| The Second of May 1808 (The Charge of the Mamelukes) | |
|---|---|
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| Artist | Francisco Goya |
| Year | 1814 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 266 cm × 345 cm (105 in × 136 in) |
| Location | Museo del Prado,Madrid |
The Second of May 1808, by Goya, also known asThe Charge of the Mamelukes (Spanish:El 2 de mayo de 1808 en Madrid,La lucha con los mamelucos orLa carga de los mamelucos),[1] is a painting by the Spanish painterFrancisco Goya. It is a companion to the paintingThe Third of May 1808 and is set in theCalle de Alcalá nearPuerta del Sol,Madrid, during theDos de Mayo Uprising. It depicts one of the many people's rebellions against the French occupation ofSpain that sparked thePeninsular War.
Both paintings were completed within a two-month period in 1814. Today they are displayed in Madrid'sMuseo del Prado.
Goya witnessed first-hand the French occupation of Spain in 1808, whenNapoleon used the pretext of reinforcing his army inPortugal to seize the Spanish throne, leaving his brotherJoseph in power. Attempts to remove members of the Spanish royal family fromMadrid provoked a widespread rebellion. This popular uprising occurred between the second and third of May 1808, when suppressed by forces under MaréchalJoachim Murat.
The Second of May 1808 depicts the beginning of the uprising when theMamelukes of the French Imperial Guard are ordered to charge and subdue the rioting citizens. The crowd sees the Mamelukes asMoors, provoking an angry response. Instead of dispersing, the crowd turned on the charging Mamelukes, resulting in a ferociousmelee. Goya was probably not present during the actual Charge of the Mamelukes. His paintings were commissioned in 1814, after the expulsion of Napoleon's army from Spain, by the council governing Spain until the return ofFerdinand VII. He chose to portray the citizens of Madrid as unknown heroes using the crudest of weapons, such as knives, to attack a professional, occupying army. That did not please the king when he returned, so the paintings were not hung publicly until many years (and governments) later.
Goya chose not to paint any single action or to have any single focal point in order to emphasize the chaos of the drama.
There has been debate about the extent to which Goya was influenced by Rubens. Goya'sSaturn Devouring His Son, c. 1819–1823 suggests a familiarity with Rubens' 1636 version in the Prado. Kenneth Clark consideredThe Second of May 1808 an "artistic failure ... perhaps he could not shake off the memory of similar compositions by Rubens".[2] Whether or not he had seen copies ofThe Tiger Hunt andThe Battle of the Amazons, at least one original, the paintingHenry IV at the Battle of Ivry, was along Goya's Italian itinerary.
In 1936, during theSpanish Civil War, when Madrid was bombed by Nationalist troops, therepublican government decided to evacuate the paintings from thePrado. A truck carrying Goya's paintings had an accident, andThe Second of May was badly damaged: there were tears and even pieces missing. A first restoration was carried out in 1941 when the paintings returned to Madrid. A further restoration was completed between 2007 and 2008.
Media related toLa Carga de los Mamelucos (Goya) at Wikimedia Commons