Not [in this case] either - Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes

A powerful etching from Goya's 'The Disasters of War' series, depicting the stark contrast between a victim of execution and an indifferent soldier.

This etching belongs to the series 'The Disasters of War' (Los Desastres de la Guerra), a collection of eighty-two prints created by Francisco Goya between 1810 and 1820. The series documents the atrocities committed during the Peninsular War between France and Spain. Goya utilised etching, drypoint, and burnishing to capture the brutality of the conflict with unflinching precision.

In this specific plate, Goya depicts a man hanging from a tree, his body limp and lifeless. To the right, a soldier reclines against a stone structure, observing the scene with a detached, almost casual demeanour. The contrast between the victim and the observer is stark. The soldier's posture suggests a chilling indifference to the violence that has occurred. Goya employs sharp, expressive lines to define the textures of the tree bark, the soldier's uniform, and the rough ground. The composition relies on the juxtaposition of the verticality of the hanging figure against the horizontal, relaxed form of the soldier.

Unlike traditional war art that glorified military heroism, Goya focused on the suffering of individuals and the moral decay of those who perpetrate such acts. The title, 'No es lo mismo' (Not [in this case] either), serves as a biting commentary on the dehumanisation inherent in war. The work avoids sentimentality, presenting the grim reality of execution as a mundane occurrence for the occupying forces. The print demonstrates Goya's mastery of light and shadow, using the white of the paper to create a sense of bleakness and exposure. This piece remains a stark observation of human cruelty, stripped of any patriotic or romantic veneer.