Plate 44 from "The Disasters of War" (Los Desastres de la Guerra): 'I saw it' (Yo lo vi)

Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)

1810 · Etching, drypoint, burin · Drawings and Prints

A controversial aspect of Goya’s graphic work is its alleged documentary value. The published edition of the present print (this is a proof impression before lettering) is inscribed "I saw it," most likely as a mark of authenticity, an assertion that it is inspired by actual events. Goya depicted a caravan of people fleeing their town, a then familiar occurrence, as citizens left in anticipation of the enemy’s arrival or fell under the occupying authority. He might have witnessed such events around the time of the second French assault on his hometown of Zaragoza, in late 1808, and in 1812, when he was living outside Madrid.

Artist

Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)

Date

1810

Medium

Etching, drypoint, burin

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1932