Alps (1800). The Italian campaign had begun in 1796 and was successful, but
in 1799, the French lost Italy. Even so, this painting by David is retroactive
in its force. It proclaims the past victory as permanent, dismissing the
inconvenient present reality. At the feet of Napoleon’s horse, we see three
names on a rock: Carolus Magnus (Charlemagne), Hannibal, and Bonaparte,
all of whom crossed the Alps. In reality, the First Consul rode a mule.
Napoleon’s armies spread their campaign of “liberation” across Europe—
sometimes wildly welcomed by large sections of the populace, sometimes
imposing themselves. Spain was an example of the latter. In late 1807, the
French conquered Portugal, then moved into
Spain in 1808. The occupation there lasted
from 1808 to 1813. In April/May of 1808,
Napoleon compelled King Charles IV of Spain
to abdicate in favor of his brother, Joseph
Bonaparte, at that time king of Naples.
One of the greatest of all Spanish artists,
Francisco Goya (1746–1828) lived through
many political and artistic changes. Beginning
as a court artist, he designed tapestries
in a Spanish version of the Rococo style.
Prospering as a portraitist, he combined
Neoclassical and Rococo elements. Under
the French occupation, he painted portraits of the occupiers, as well as his
countrymen. After the expulsion of the French army, he unleashed his pent-
up emotions in powerful paintings and etchings. In his old age, he painted
haunting personal images that encompass the emotional and biographical
immediacy of Romanticism but in a style that is solely his own. We see ¿ rst
The Parasol (1777–1778), a design for a tapestry meant to hang in the Prado
Palace. The painting is candid and observant but with an air of naiveté,
illustrating Goya’s own take on the French Rococo.
In May and June 1808, when Joseph Bonaparte was installed as king of
Spain, an open revolt against the French erupted, ¿ rst in Madrid, then across
Spain. We see Goya’s The Third of May 1808 (1814). This is a pendant to
The Second of May, which depicts the people attacking the mamelukes—
David’s horri¿ c
image unintentionally
announced that
revolutionary
principles had led to
violence and that the
revolution had failed
to achieve its ideals.